AD&D - Battlesystem - Miniatures Rules (2e)

The Marching Horde Basic Scenario 2

Monstrous Invaders the battlefield and form into an orga- defenders' task more challenging, play-
nized mass. The lead unit is just about ers may agree to remove the lake, wid-
Background ready to start the advance. . . . ening the battlefield accordingly.)

The goblins of Blackfang Peak have Setup Victory
waited long enough. They don't want The Monstrous Invaders score a ma-
to be the goblins of Blackfang Peak any The forces of the Monstrous Invaders
more; instead, they are coming down must be set up first, all units within the jor victory if at least two units with
from the mountains to lay claim to the area defined on the map. Note that the more than 50% of their original num-
fertile lowlands. Aided by a contingent overcast sky allows the goblins and ber of figures succeed in moving off the
of ore allies that are faster than and just ores to fight with no penalty to their south end of the table. They achieve a
as nasty as the goblins themselves, they morale. minor victory if, at any time, the num-
hope to break through a narrow strip of ber of demihuman casualties plus the
flat ground between the forest and a Terrain number of monster figures that have
ridge of hills bordering the lake. marched off the south end of the table is
The lake is deep water, impassable to greater than the number of monster ca-
They expect to encounter opposition all troops. (It exists only as a means of sualties.
in the form of a fragmented band of de- narrowing the gap through which the
mihumans, most of which (the goblins invaders will try to pass; to make the AR Hits ML MV
assume) are lying in wait like cowards 8 1 11 6"
inside the edge of the forest. The gob- Unit Rosters AD
lins know from past experience that it's 6*6 8 1 11 6"
not a good idea to meet this enemy in 24 Goblins with Spears 8 2 12 18"
head-to-head combat on a small battle- Rangel"/2"/3" 6
field; they will fight if they must, but 10 8 1 11 9"
they know that they have a better 24 Goblins with Swords 8 1 11 9"
chance of achieving ultimate victory if 12 Goblins Cavalry 6
they are able to pass the bottleneck and 6*6
spread out into the wide-open terrain (Riding wolves)
farther to the south. 12 Ores with Axes
12 Ores with Short Bows
The sky is gloomy—a great day for a
battle, from the monsters' point of Range5"/10"/15"
view. They inch forward to the edge of

49

Basic Scenario 2 The Marching Horde

Demihuman Defenders The defenders are poised on the edge less challenging, players may agree to
of the forest. They know where the remove the lake, widening the battle-
Background monsters are located, and are just wait- field accordingly.)
ing for them to make a move south-
The goblins of Blackfang Peak are on ward. Or, if the spirit moves them, they Victory
the march. Scouts have alerted the might just move out first, occupy the
peace-loving folk of the forest and hilltops and the valley, and dare the in- The Demihuman Defenders score a
grassland south of the mountains that vaders to breach their lines. major victory if all of the invading units
an attack by a force of monsters is im- are eliminated or forced to rout back
minent. The elves, dwarves, halflings, Setup into the mountains (off the north end of
and centaurs who share the land and the table). If any monsters are able to
normally stay out of one another's way After the forces of the invaders are break through and move off the south
now find it necessary to join forces to set up, the defenders deploy within the end of the field, the defenders can still
meet the common foe. southern part of the forest. score a minor victory if, at the end of
the scenario (no monsters left on the
Each race of the defenders has sent a Terrain field), the number of monster casualties
contingent of its best warriors to meet is greater than the number of demihu-
the threat. Although they realize that The lake is deep water, impassable to man casualties plus the number of mon-
they are outnumbered, this is not a mat- all troops. (It exists only as a means of ster figures that have marched off the
ter of great concern, because they plan narrowing the gap that the defenders south end of the table.
to choose the place where the confron- must guard; to make the invaders' task
tation will take place and thus make the
battlefield work to their advantage. By Unit Rosters AD AR Hits ML MV
bottling up the invaders between the 6*8 7 1 12 12"
forest and the hills, they hope to make it 15 Elf Longbowmen
impossible for the goblins and ores to Range7"/14"/21" 8 6 1 12 6"
bring all their numbers to bear at the 6 8 1 11 9"
same time. Although they would settle 18 Dwarf Axemen
for driving the monsters back where 24 Halfling Spearmen [12]8 13 18"
they came from, the defenders would
prefer to eliminate every goblin and ore Rangel"/2"/3"
to prevent the survivors from gathering 8 Centaur Lancers
another invasion force.

Demihuman
Defenders
setup are

a3 o
a•ca< 3

a
0) (D o
CD (/> (c0
0)

50

Attack from the Swamp Basic Scenario 3

Defenders of Freedom though they expect an attack at any wide. The wall is 4 feet high; dwarves
minute—and they are about to be and halflings can cross the obstacle at a
Background proven right. movement cost of 6", humans and elves
at a cost of 4", and the knights (on their
The swamp is a place where most Setup horses) at a cost of 2" .
sensible men do not dare to tread. Mov-
ing through the muck and mire is diffi- Units of the Defenders of Freedom Victory
cult and dangerous, because of the are set up first, in and around the area
terrain itself and even more so because enclosed by a low stone wall. The wall The Defenders of Freedom give no
of the inhuman and evil creatures that used to serve as a fence around a farm- quarter and expect none. The battle is a
dwell within it. house and outbuildings, all of which fight for survival; the defenders win if
were burned to the ground during the they eliminate all of the swamp crea-
But all of that does not mean that swamp fiends' last assault on this area. tures from the battlefield. The de-
men and their allies can afford to ignore fenders can also claim victory if all of
the swamp; in fact, quite the opposite is Terrain the remaining monsters rout back into
true. For as long as the natives of this the swamp. When a routed monster
area can remember, garrisons have The wall is in the shape of a square unit ends its move in the swamp, it is
been set up and manned around the with one corner and part of one side considered eliminated; it need not
edge of the bog, to make sure that the missing. Each full side is 12" long, and move all the way off the table.
fiends of the swamp do not emerge and the gap along the southern edge is 6"
take over the surrounding countryside.
This outpost is one of the most impor- Unit Rosters AD AR Hits ML MV
tant and most heavily staffed; the De- [12]8 5 3 14 15"
fenders of Freedom know, as do the 8 Knights of the Red Badge
swamp creatures, that if this position is 12 Elf Longbowmen 6*6 8 1 12 12"
overrun, no one anywhere else in the
land will be safe. Range7"/14"/21" 6 7 1 11 9"
16 Human Swordsmen
Things have been quiet for a long 12 Halfling Shortbowmen 6*6 8 1 11 6"
time . . . too long. The defenders have
no way of knowing for sure, but war- Range5"/10"/15" 13 6"
riors' intuition tells them that the un- 12 Dwarf Axemen
easy peace is about to be shattered. The
humans and demihumans deploy as

efenders of Freedom
setup area

51

Basic Scenario 3 Attack from the Swamp

Lean, Mean, and Green most fortified positions. Imagine the Terrain
look of terror on the cowards' faces
Background when they discover that the swamp is The wall is in the shape of a square
not the only ground they have to worry with one corner and part of one side miss-
The swamp is a place where cow- about guarding. . . . ing. Each full side is 12" long, and the gap
ardly humanoids do not dare to tread. along the southern edge is 6" wide. The
If humans and their allies had the cour- Setup wall is 4 feet high; lizard men can cross
age to meet the denizens of the bog on the obstacle at a movement cost of 4",
their own terrain, the battle for control After the defending units are set up, ogres and trolls at a cost of 2".
of the countryside would have ended the forces of the Lean, Mean and Green
long ago in favor of the lizard men and alliance are placed along the northern Victory
their compatriots. edge of the battlefield. One unit of liz-
ard men must be set up in the swamp; The Lean, Mean and Green alliance
As it is, however, the men insist on the ogres and the trolls can be either in gives no quarter and expects none. The
staying just out of easy reach, hidden in the swamp or on the clear terrain adja- battle is a fight for survival; the swamp
forests or behind barriers, requiring the cent to it. The other unit of lizard men creatures can only win if all of the de-
lizard men to carry the fight to their en- can be placed anywhere within the fenders' units are eliminated from the
emies. If the swamp creatures are swamp (inside or outside the setup battlefield. If a routed swamp-creature
forced to come out of their element and area). unit ends its move in the swamp, it is
fight the defenders on dry ground, then eliminated; the unit need not move all
that is what they will do. The humans Unit Rosters AD the way off the table.
can try to hold their defensive posi- 12
tions, and they may succeed in bringing 6 Trolls 10 AR Hits Ml MV
down some of the marauders from the 12 Ogres 10 6 4 13 12"
swamp, but considering the power of 20 Lizard Men 7 2 12 9"
the forces that have allied with the liz- 10 7 2 12 12"
ard men, eventual triumph is a cer- Irregular formation only
tainty. Favored terrain: Swamp 7 2 12 12"
20 Lizard Men
Things have been quiet for a long Irregular formation only
time . . . too long. The lizard men have Favored terrain: Swamp
recouped from earlier defeats, and now
are ready to begin their most vicious as-
sault ever on one of the humanoids'

Defenders of Freedom
setup area

52

Chapter 6

Intermediate Rules

53

Chapter 6: Intermediate Rules

These rules expand the basic version An ogre stands ready, arrayed for another friendly skirmish unit at no
of the BATTLESYSTEM™ game. They battle. movement penalty. When the skirmish-
include information on skirmish units, ers are finished moving, however, the
primitive firearms, special formations, unit into groups separated by more two units must be separate from each
chariots and other battle platforms, thanl". other—you can't intermingle figures
unit discipline, and the roles of individ- from two units of skirmishers into a sin-
ual figures as commanders and heroes. The figures in a skirmish formation gle formation. Skirmishers cannot
must obey this restriction at the end of move through a friendly unit that is not
It's not necessary to use all of these their movement step. If the figures are also a skirmish unit.
rules; in fact, some of them may not spread too far apart (or packed too
even apply in a given scenario. How- tightly) at that time, the unit routs. If Skirmishers can move through light
ever, it's a good idea to become familiar combat losses or some other factor woods without incurring a movement
with these rules and put at least some of drive the unit apart during a later part penalty, and they treat dense woods as
them into play before proceeding to the of the turn, the unit still has until the light woods. Skirmishers can cross ob-
advanced rules, given in the following end of its next movement step to regain stacles by paying only half the move-
chapter. its formation. ment penalty assessed to other troops
(usually 2" instead of 4", but may vary
Skirmishers Movement per obstacle).

Skirmishers, or Unlike figures in All other special terrain affects the
skirmish units, are fast-moving, lightly other units, skirmisher figures are movement of skirmishers as it does all
armored troops, often armed with mis- moved individually. However, one fig- other troops.
sile weapons such as bows and arrows. ure must complete its move before the
They are more mobile than other kinds next is moved—and, as with all types of Combat
of troops, and for this reason skirmish- troops, the entire unit must be moved
ers are often used as an advance force before the figures of another unit can Skirmishers per-
that can move out ahead of the main begin to move. form in combat the same as all other
body of an army and make contact with troops, except for these differences:
or shoot missiles at the enemy (often Each figure in a skirmish unit can
preventing the enemy from moving any change its facing (by turning or wheel- Charging/Contacting Enemy Troops:
farther) in preparation for a full-scale ing) at no movement cost, paying only Skirmishers cannot declare charges.
assault by the units that are following for the distance actually moved from They cannot advance into contact with
them into battle. one location to another on the battle- the front sides of enemy figures in regu-
field. Also, each figure pays for move- lar formation. They can advance to
Skirmishers must be mounted one ment separately; for example, if part of contact the flanks and rear of a regular
figure per stand, on bases that are larger a skirmish unit moves on a path that formation unit, or against any side of
than those used for other kinds of takes it across an obstacle, only those an irregular unit. They can stand and
troops: 25 mm square for smaller than figures that move through the obstacle defend normally if an enemy unit
man-sized infantry; 30 mm for man- are required to pay the cost of doing so. moves into contact with them. (Also,
sized infantry; 30 or 35 mm for large see Skirmisher Withdrawal and Charg-
creatures; and 40 mm square (or larger) A skirmish unit can move through ing Skirmishers, pages 55-56.)
for giant-sized creatures. Cavalry skir-
mishers are mounted on rectangular ba- 54 Melee Casualties: When melee com-
ses: 25 or 30 mm wide for small-sized bat inflicts casualties on a skirmish
figures, 30 or 35 mm wide for man- unit, those casualties must be ac-
sized, and at least 35 mm wide for larger counted for by removing skirmishers
types of creatures. that are in contact with enemy figures.
If all skirmishers in contact are elimi-
Formation nated, additional losses are taken from
the skirmishers nearest the casualties.
Skirmishers can-
not enter regular or irregular forma- Missile Casualties: When missile
tion. Each figure in a skirmish unit must combat inflicts casualties on a skirmish
be at least V2", and not more than 1", unit, the attacker chooses which of the
away from another skirmisher in the defender's skirmisher figures are re-
unit. All the figures in the unit must be moved. Losses must come from skir-
linked together through a loose chain of mishers within the proper range
bases; it is illegal to split up a skirmish category (or closer) of the middle of the
firing troops. For example, it is illegal to
take a medium-range shot at a skirmish

Intermediate Rules

Skirmisher movement. Before moving, this skirmish unit three figures that had to clear the hedge are lagging be-
was in a roughly straight line (left side of photo), with the hind the other figures, which are now separated from each
figures V2" apart. After the unit moves (right side), the other by 1 " . (One figure has moved out of the photo.)

unit and then take casualties from skir- When a player declares skirmisher from an enemy figure, it can only move
mishers at long-range distance—unless withdrawal, the opponent immediately in a direction that takes it farther away
all the medium- and short-range targets ceases his movement. The skirmishers from that enemy.
are first removed, and those removals can then withdraw a distance of up to
do not account for all the hits inflicted. half their movement allowance. If a figure in a skirmish unit is con-
fronted by enemy figures from more
Skirmisher Withdrawal If the withdrawing skirmishers have than one direction, it must withdraw
missile weapons, and would normally along a path that takes it away from all
Skirmishers can be entitled to fire them during this of the enemy figures. If any figure of a
perform a special kind of movement, movement step, they can fire before skirmish unit cannot withdraw because
called skirmisher withdrawal. Like an they withdraw. Whether or not they it is surrounded by nearby enemy fig-
opportunity charge, skirmisher with- shoot, withdrawing skirmishers can al- ures (or impassable terrain, or friendly
drawal always occurs during the oppo- ways be moved backward a distance of units that are not skirmishers, or a com-
nent's movement step. Skirmisher up to half of the unit's movement allow- bination of all three), then that entire
withdrawal can be declared while the ance. skirmish unit cannot withdraw.
opponent is charging with or moving a
non-skirmish unit, unless one of these Each figure in the withdrawing skir- Skirmisher withdrawal can only be
conditions is true: mish unit must move to the rear (an- performed once per turn by any given
gling no more than 45 degrees to either skirmish unit. If, after the unit with-
1. The opposing unit that is moving side), and at the end of its withdrawal, draws, an advancing enemy unit still
or charging has a greater movement al- its facing can be changed to whatever makes contact with it, the skirmishers
lowance than the skirmish unit. direction the owning player desires. A must fight a normal melee. Skirmisher
withdrawing skirmisher cannot move withdrawal does not affect a skirmish
2. The opposing unit is charging, and into contact with an enemy figure. A unit's ability to move during its own
it has a movement allowance equal to withdrawing skirmisher that moves as movement step.
that of the skirmishers. close as 3" away from an enemy figure
must cease moving at once. If it begins Skirmisher withdrawal is never re-
3. Any figure of the skirmish unit is in withdrawing when it is 3" or less away quired; a unit of skirmishers can stand
contact with an enemy unit. and meet the advance of the enemy.

55

Intermediate Rules

Once a figure in a moving unit (in any to severely weaken the unit). A battle platform has its own AD fig-
formation) comes into contact with a A charging unit with sufficient move- ure, and adds its attack die roll to the
skirmisher, that figure must cease mov- attack of each of the figures it is trans-
ing. As with any unit, other figures can ment can attack and pass through sev- porting when they enter melee combat.
keep moving until they, too, come into eral groups of enemy skirmishers Missile troops aboard a battle platform
contact with skirmishers or reach the during a single charge. can fire as if they had remained station-
limit of their movement allowance. ary during a turn, even if the platform
Battle Platforms: moves. Archers in chariots, for exam-
Charging Skirmishers Chariots, Elephants, ple, could fire twice during a turn (dur-
and Battle Beasts ing the movement steps or the Missile
When declaring Combat Step) even if the chariots move
charges for his units, a player can desig- A battle platform their full allowance. The troops on a
nate an enemy unit as the target of the is any vehicle or structure, usually de- battle platform can engage in melee
charge even if the path to that unit goes signed to carry troops, that can be combat even if some or all of them have
through one or more units of enemy moved quickly around the battlefield fired missiles during the same turn.
skirmishers, because it is possible for a while being pulled or carried by a large
charging unit to blast through a line of animal. In BATTLESYSTEM™ sce- Charging platforms are treated as
skirmishers and continue its charge narios, the most often seen types in- cavalry, inflicting double AD against
against units beyond. clude chariots pulled by horses or other the target of the charge.
animals, elephants with howdahs (plat-
If a charging unit contacts enemy forms) mounted on their backs, and Routing of Battle Beasts
skirmishers before it has gone its full battle beasts—dragons or other huge
normal movement (not including the monsters equipped with platforms or If an elephant or other large animal
charge movement bonus), a special me- enclosures that can hold troops. figure routs, it will not necessarily flee
lee combat is resolved immediately. toward its own side of the board. In-
At least one riding figure is required stead, roll a dl2 for each unit of such
If all skirmisher figures in the path of to control the platform; all other figures beasts that routs to randomly deter-
the charging unit are eliminated as a re- carried aboard can participate in mis- mine its direction.
sult of this combat, the charging unit sile or melee combat. An animal pulling
can continue its charge. However, the or carrying an empty battle platform Orient the "12" result to north (think
charging unit also has the option of call- cannot move unless it is performing of the face of a clock) and rout the unit
ing off the charge after the combat (in rout movement (see below). in the direction indicated by the roll. A
case the skirmishers scored enough hits result of "3" sends the unit east, for ex-
ample, while "6" sends it south. The
unit will veer within the allowances of
the rules on rout movement (see page
33) to avoid units in its path.

If, however, the unit contacts any
unit, friendly or enemy, during the
course of its rout, melee combat is re-
solved immediately. If the unit struck
by the routing unit fails to displace
enough to allow the routing unit to
pass, a new direction of flight is deter-
mined for the routing beasts.

A catapult backs up a sturdy unit of irregular infantry, with the artillery crew pre- Special Formations
pared to aim the weapon where it will do the most damage.
Special forma-
56 tions detailed here include shield walls,
pike blocks, and mixed units of archers
and melee troops. A unit is only eligible
to use one of these formations if this
fact is noted on the unit roster.

If an eligible unit is in regular forma-
tion, the owning player can declare that
it is entering a special formation. This
must be declared during the player's

Intermediate Rules

movement step, before the unit moves. A goblin scowls warily at anyone who did not use any of the extra movement
A unit can be declared to abandon its dares to approach. granted by the forced march. A failed
formation at the start of a movement check reduces the unit to shaken status,
step in a subsequent turn. A unit auto- troops in the rear. While the front rank but there is no additional effect; a unit is
matically abandons a special formation is engaged in melee combat, the missile not forced to retreat as a result of failing
if it goes to irregular formation, or if it troops (assuming they are not in con- this check (although it can retreat if de-
routs. tact with enemy figures) can fire their sired).
weapons during the same turn.
Shield Wall A unit can continue to perform
The missile troops are not allowed to forced marches (one per turn) as long as
Regular units fire at enemy figures that are in base-to- it is in good order. A forced march can-
equipped with large shields can form a base contact with friendly figures, but not be performed in conjunction with a
shield wall. they can take pass-through fire against charge.
a foe before it contacts the unit the mis-
A shield wall gives the unit a bonus of sile troops are in, without hampering Heroes
- 3 to its armor rating against missile the front rank's ability to meet the en-
attacks, and - 1 against melee attacks. emy in melee. Heroes are fig-
It only provides the bonus against at- ures that represent individuals—those
tacks that hit the front of the unit; flank Forced March who command units and armies, and
and rear attacks against a shield wall those who might stalk the field, seeking
are resolved normally. A shield wall is Troops in good opponents to meet in single combat.
of no benefit against artillery attacks order can sometimes increase their The miniature figure representing a
(see the advanced rules, Chapter 7). movement allowance by 6" per turn by hero indicates a single person or crea-
using a forced march. ture, not 10 individuals (at the 10:1 ra-
A unit employing a shield wall for- tio used for other figures). Also unlike
mation can only move half of its nor- The forced march must be declared other figures used with the BATTLE-
mal movement allowance. before the unit begins moving, and be- SYSTEM™ rules, heroes do not need to
fore any measurement is made for the be mounted on special bases of a certain
Pike Block unit's move. The unit increases its dimension, though they can be so
movement allowance by 6". It cannot mounted if desired.
A well-trained move into contact with or close prox-
unit equipped with pikes can form a imity to enemy figures at any point dur- The word "hero," in this context,
pike block. ing that move or when the move is includes—in addition to the "good
completed. Whenever its path of move- guys"—villainous humans and human-
A pike block can be used to defend a ment would bring it less than 3" away oids, and even nasty monsters such as
unit upon three of its flanks; only the from an enemy figure, the unit must ei- dragons and giants. Wizards and
rear of the unit is treated normally. ther veer to avoid the enemy figure or priests, described in the advanced rules
cease its movement for the turn at that on magic (Chapter 8), are also treated
This formation allows the unit to point. as heroes. A set of rules, explained in
move up to half of its normal move- this section, allows some heroes to be
ment allowance while benefiting from After the unit completes its move it designated as commanders. A com-
the advantage of a unit with pikes set to must perform a morale check, even if it mander is placed with a unit of troops
meet a charge ( x 2 AD versus a charg- and serves to control that unit. If the
ing unit). If a pike block is engaged in 57 rules on commanders are employed, a
melee combat, pikemen in the second unit must have a commander in order
and third rows of a formation, as well to move and fight at full effectiveness.
as those in the front row, can attack the In the following text, "hero" is used to
enemy. describe an individual figure that is not
a commander, and thus not compelled
Mixed Lines to remain attached to the same unit for
the duration of the battle.
A unit armed
with both missile weapons and melee Number of Heroes per Battle
weapons can employ this formation, in
which all the missile-firing figures are When heroes are
grouped together with the melee troops present on the battlefield (as per the sce-
arrayed around them or in front of nario roster), in general there will be no
them.

In a typical arrangement, troops us-
ing melee weapons are set up toward
the front of the unit, with the missile

Intermediate Rules

Command diameter. The individual figure has a CD of 12", both—in command. If the CD circle is drawn with the com-
large enough to put either one of these units—but not mander in its center, then neither unit is in command.

more than one hero for each two units. Commanders pen when the commander moves, or
A hero can become a commander, tak- when the owning player states that the
ing over control of a unit, if the unit's A commander is circle is being moved).
original commander is killed. Also, it is any hero designated as the individual in
possible for a hero to be designated as charge of a unit or an army. If these op- Effects of Command
the army commander. This special indi- tional rules are employed, players are al-
vidual is not assigned to a specific unit, lowed to add one hero (as a commander) Figures must be
but can move to take control of any to their army for each unit, and one hero in command to undertake several dif-
unit. However, a commander who is re- to serve as the army commander. ferent functions. A shaken unit can
placed does not become a hero; the fig- only rally if all of its figures are in com-
ure must continue to move and fight The unit roster of a commander gives mand. Units that are not in command
with the unit to which it is attached. the individual's command diameter cannot change frontage. A unit not in
(CD), which describes the size of the command cannot declare or perform a
The Unit Roster circular area in which the commander charge.
exerts influence. The circle must in-
For the most clude the commander, but need not be During the owning player's move-
part, the roster of an individual looks centered on the commander. All of the ment step, a unit's commander can
like that of a unit. Attack Dice, Armor figures (troops) in a unit must be within move either before, during, or after the
Rating, Hits, and Movement all indi- the command diameter of their unit unit's move.
cate the same functions. commander in order to be able to move
or attack at full effectiveness. If a unit is not in command when it
The only different category is Com- begins to move, its movement allow-
mand Diameter (CD), which is substi- Units that are not entirely within a ance is reduced to half of the normal
tuted for Morale. This statistic is only single commander's CD are considered amount, even if theunit becomes in
used if the rules on commanders (see to be out of command. They remain out command while moving.
next column) are employed. of command until they enter the diame-
ter of the commander, or the diameter is Figures that are not within the com-
shifted to include them (which can hap- mand diameter of their leader at the
time they make an attack receive only

58

Intermediate Rules

half the normal number of attack dice This elven axeman is a fine example Moving and Fighting
for that attack (1 AD per two figures, of detail painting.
rounded up). with Heroes
the unit will charge; no charge declara-
Charisma Bonus tion or charge initiation check is neces- The movement
sary. (In this case, the owning player allowance and combat abilities of a
Some command- still receives the modifier to his initia- hero allow it the same movement and
ers have a charisma bonus, listed as a tive die roll for this charge, even though attack options as they would to figures
note on the roster when it applies. a charge was not technically declared in a unit. These combat rules apply to
These individuals, by force of personal- for the unit.) If the discipline check is all heroes, including those used as com-
ity and leadership, can increase the successful, the owning player can manders.
courage and ferocity of the troops un- choose whether or not the unit will
der their command. This bonus applies charge (and, as usual, a charge initia- When a hero is in base-to-base con-
to the morale of a unit under the charac- tion check is necessary if a charge is de- tact with one or more figures of a
ter's command whenever the entire unit clared). friendly unit, the hero is considered to
(or as much of it as remains in the bat- be attached to that unit, and can move
tle) is within the commander's CD. A unit in melee with the chaotic unit and fight as part of that unit. This ap-
routs, or performs a fighting with- plies to commanders and also to heroes
For example, a unit with a morale of drawal. not used as commanders.
12 that is commanded by an individual
with a charisma bonus of +2 functions A successful discipline check means A hero moves like a figure in a skir-
as if it had a morale of 14 as long as it re- that the chaotic unit can perform what- mish unit; that is, it pays no extra cost
mains in command. ever task the owning player desires. for facing changes, and special terrain
Failure, however, means that the cha- features don't slow it down as much as
Discipline otic unit is required to make every ef- they do non-skirmish units.
fort to close with the retreating unit
Sometimes a unit during its next movement step. The movement of a hero does not
can be overeager to see combat, charg- trigger an enemy unit's pass-through
ing against a hated foe when its com- In addition, any unit must make a fire, opportunity charges, or skirmisher
mander might wish it to remain in discipline check when it is in good order withdrawal. An enemy hero, however,
place. In some cases, a discipline check and has a hated foe in its charge range can take pass-through missile attacks at
is necessary to determine whether or at the start of a turn. A chaotic unit has other heroes and units. A hero cannot
not a commander retains control of his a —2 penalty to its morale rating when charge unless attached to a unit that
unit. this check is required. charges.

A unit's discipline is the same as its In addition to its skirmisher-type
morale, and a discipline check is made movement, a hero can change facing at
the same way as a morale check. How- any time during a turn (just before be-
ever, the modifiers that can affect a ing attacked, for instance, so that it can
unit's morale do not apply to a unit avoid being struck from the flank or the
making a discipline check. rear). During its movement step, a hero
can freely move away from an oppo-
Usually, only units of chaotic crea- nent in contact with it; it need not flee
tures are subject to discipline checks. or withdraw the way a unit does.
(The troop type list, Appendix II, iden-
tify which creatures are chaotic.) Non- A hero can perform skirmisher with-
chaotic creatures might be required to drawal, with the same restrictions and
make a discipline check if they have a procedures as for skirmishers.
hated foe in the battle. (Hated foes are
also listed in the troop type list, and A hero can attack any figure it
should be noted on a unit roster before touches, and be attacked likewise.
the start of the scenario.) When a unit in regular formation at-
tacks a hero, the attacker does not get
A chaotic unit must make a discipline the benefit of additional attacks (one
check when: figure to the right and one to the left of
the target) that it would receive against
It is in good order and has an enemy normal troops. In fact, no more than
unit in its charge range at the start of a two figures of the same or smaller size,
turn. or one figure of larger size than the
hero, can attack a figure representing
A failed discipline check means that an individual.

Also, the only way two figures can
attack a hero is from two different

59

Intermediate Rules

sides—from the front and rear, or from an individual can be recorded on the to another commander, or to a hero at-
the front and one side, or from both unit roster or some other piece of paper, tached to a unit the commander's unit is
sides at the same time. which enables the owning player to attacking. For a commander to issue a
keep the total number of hits secret (un- challenge, neither he nor his unit can
Heroes Fighting With a Unit less the opposing player has been care- move during his movement step
ful to also keep track). (though they can be engaged in melee).
A commander or
hero can be attached to a unit as ex- Challenge to Heroic Combat Exception: If a commander's unit
plained above. The hero can be placed is engaged in melee with an enemy
between two figures, or it can occupy a A hero can some- unit, he can challenge the com-
small space on the tabletop (only as times challenge an enemy hero to single mander of the enemy unit (or a
large as the actual base of the figure). In combat, with the intention of eliminat- hero operating with that unit), and
either case, the addition of a hero to one ing the enemy hero or causing that indi- then his unit can still perform
of the ranks in a unit does not increase vidual to flee. A hero can challenge an wraparound movement before an-
the width of that rank and does not re- enemy individual during the owning other turn of combat takes place.
quire the unit to expand frontage in or- player's movement step, so long as the The opponent must immediately re-
der to accommodate the hero. challenging hero has not moved during spond to an individual's challenge, ac-
the current turn. Morale of nearby cepting or refusing it. If the challenge is
The individual figure attacks along friendly units is temporarily raised refused, nothing occurs as a result—ex-
with the unit to which it is attached, when a challenge is issued or accepted. cept that the morale of one or more of
and any hits that it scores are added to the challenging side's units will improve
the damage done by the troops. One en- A challenge can be issued to any en- for the rest of the turn.
emy figure (possibly two, if the hero is emy individual within 10" of the chal-
under attack from the flank or rear as lenging hero. A hero can challenge If the opponent accepts the chal-
well as the front) can be designated to another hero, or possibly a com- lenge, the two figures are immediately
attack the individual; hits inflicted by mander; however, a hero can only chal- moved to a point halfway between their
that figure apply against the hero, not lenge a commander if the hero is previous locations and placed in base-
the unit. A player does not have to des- attached to a unit that is in melee com- to-base contact facing each other. If this
ignate a specific attack against an en- bat with the enemy commander's unit. location happens to be in the midst of a
emy individual. melee, the two individual figures will
A commander can issue a challenge
Individuals as Missile Targets

An individual
not attached to a unit is not eligible to
be the target of a unit's missile attack.
However, if a missile unit is firing at a
target unit that contains one or more in-
dividuals, one firing figure can be allo-
cated to shoot at each enemy individual
figure in the firing unit's range. A mov-
ing hero, whether attached to a unit or
operating by itself, cannot trigger pass-
through fire from a missile unit—but
other heroes can make pass-through at-
tacks against the moving hero.

Showing Hits Elven riders—two heroes, four heavy horsemen, and a line of light lancers-
Against Individuals advance to contact the foe.

Hits against indi-
viduals are marked with a d6 (or dl2, if
necessary). It is often easiest to stand
the figure right on top of its damage
marker, covering up the number on the
die that indicates how many hits the
hero has suffered. Alternatively, hits on

60

Intermediate Rules

face each other, the flanks and rear of Firearms arquebus attacks often suffer penalties
each one protected by friendly figures. to their armor rating, depending on the
No other figure can attack figures en- One of the inter- range of the arquebus attack:
gaged in heroic combat. mediate scenarios in this book (pre-
sented following the end of this A target at long range makes armor
The challenge combat must be fought chapter) introduces a unit armed with checks with the full benefit of its armor
with melee weapons. Each figure makes the primitive arquebusses that heralded rating (although other modifiers to AR
one attack during the Melee Combat the dawn of the Age of Gunpowder. might apply).
Step of each turn. The combatants in- These troops, called arquebusiers, are
flict hits upon each other until one fig- easily used in BATTLESYSTEM™ sce- A target at medium range suffers a
ure is slain, or a player decides (during narios by incorporating the following + 5 penalty to its AR.
his movement step) to withdraw his fig- optional rules.
ure from the duel. A target at short range suffers a +10
When They Fire penalty to its AR; in other words, every
Morale Effects hit counts unless the target is screened
of Heroic Combat Units equipped or protected, so that it receives an AR
with firearms can fire them during the benefit that partially offsets the +10
A unit com- Missile Combat Step, or can use a vol- penalty.
mander can modify the morale of his ley as pass-through fire during the op-
own unit by taking part in heroic com- ponent's movement step. If a unit of Dismounted Cavalry
bat. A hero will modify the morale of arquebusiers is being transported
the unit he is fighting with, if he is cur- aboard battle platforms, however, the Certain types of
rently operating as part of a unit. Oth- weapons can be fired before, during, or cavalry units are capable of dismount-
erwise he can modify the morale of any after the battle platform moves in the ing, so that the troops can fight as in-
single friendly unit that has at least one owning player's movement step. In any fantry. This tactic can be useful in dense
figure within 5" of the hero. case, arquebusiers cannot fire more woods or swamp—terrain prohibited
than once per turn. to cavalry, but not infantry—and also
An army commander engaged in he- when troops enter and fight in buildings
roic combat can modify the morale of Arquebusiers that are not aboard a (described in the advanced rules, Chap-
any of his units that have a line of sight battle platform cannot fire if the unit ter 7). If a cavalry unit is capable of
to the heroic battle. has moved at all during the current moving and fighting while dismounted,
turn, including changes of frontage or this fact must be noted on the unit ros-
The morale effects are as follows: facing. Neither can the firearms be used ter for the scenario being played; if no
if enemy figures are in base-to-base such notation exists, then the unit can-
When a challenge is issued: +1 to the contact with the firearms-bearing fig- not dismount.
morale of any eligible friendly unit(s) ures.
during that turn. Some of the characteristics of dis-
Effects of Fire mounted troops are different from the
When a challenge is accepted: +1 to unit's normal (mounted) statistics. The
the morale of any eligible friendly Arquebus units following modifications apply to a dis-
unit(s) during that turn. typically are allowed 8-sided attack mounted unit:
dice (AD 8) and range limitations of 5" /
When a challenge is refused: no mo- 10" /20". Those numbers might be var- AD is the same as the unit's mounted
rale effect to the refuser's unit(s), but ied by specific scenario rules. melee weapon—not its charge weapon,
the challenger still gets the +1 modifier Arquebusiers are treated as normal if the unit is equipped with one. For in-
for any eligible unit(s). missile-firing units in all respects, ex- stance, the AD figure for a unit of
cept that they cannot perform indirect mounted lancers is [12]8, indicating
When an individual breaks off a he- fire. that it uses AD 12 (the lances) when
roic combat, or is slain: The unit(s) on charging, but changes to AD 8 (swords)
the same side as the defeated hero that An arquebus attack scores hits nor- for normal melee combat after the
received a morale benefit when the mally, with one exception: Since these charge is completed. If the unit dis-
challenge was issued or accepted must weapons had a tendency to explode, mounts, it has AD 8.
make an immediate morale check— each AD result of 1 causes an automatic
without the +1 modifier, which is ne- hit (no armor check allowed) on the ar- AR and Hits are unchanged.
gated as soon as the defeated hero is quebus unit itself! ML is reduced by 1.
killed or flees. In addition, the follow- MV for nonhuman troops is the same
ing morale modifiers immediately take Arquebus attacks can punch through as for infantry of that creature type; for
effect: - 2 to the defeated individual's even the heaviest armor at short range. example, dismounted goblins move 6".
unit(s) for this and the following turn, Consequently, figures or units struck by MV for human troops is assigned ac-
and +2 to the victorious individual's cording to the unit's armor rating; hu-
unit(s) during the same time.

61

Intermediate Rules

mans of AR 3 or lower can move 6", Optional Combat Rules Specific AR Penalties
those of AR 4-6 can move 9", and those
of AR 7 or higher can move 12". These rules add detail to several as- This rule applies
pects of the combat system. in melee combat when a unit is attack-
A mounted unit cannot move and ing more than one side of an opposing
then dismount in the same turn; dis- Splitting Missile Fire unit. Instead of the entire defending
mounting must be done before the unit Between Targets unit suffering an AR penalty ( +2 if at-
moves. A unit that begins its movement tacked from the flank, +4 if attacked
step by dismounting can move up to This rule allows from the rear), the penalty is applied
two-thirds of its dismounted movement missile-firing units to occasionally fire only to the figures that are actually be-
allowance during that turn. at two target units at the same time. A ing flanked or hit from the rear. In ef-
unit can split missile fire only when fect, the defending unit is treated as two
Dismounted troops should be repre- more than one target unit is in range, separate groups (or three, if that many
sented by spare figures or counters, and when some of the attacking figures sides are being attacked), with separate
while the cavalry figures are kept on the are prevented (by blocked line of sight) attacks rolled for each group.
table to represent the steeds. One of from shooting at the target designated
every four dismounted figures must re- for the rest of the missile unit. When the defending player makes ar-
main with the steeds if the mounts are mor checks for the unit that has just
to be reused. If the mounts are to be Only those figures that cannot shoot been attacked, he also does so in two
abandoned, then the cavalry figures at the first designated target can fire at a (or three) separate rolls. Figures that are
should be removed from the table as different enemy unit. Roll for the first attacked only along their front sides
soon as the dismounted troops move attack, and then immediately for the al- make armor checks using their normal
away from them. ternate attack, before resolving any AR; those that are attacked from the
other movement or combat. flank (or from the front and the flank si-
Steeds without riders cannot attack, multaneously) make armor checks with
and they suffer a —1 penalty to their If the rules on commanders are used, a +2 penalty to their AR; and those
ML for as long as they remain riderless. figures must be in command to take the that are attacked from the rear make ar-
alternate shot. Only one alternate tar- mor checks with a +4 penalty.
Troops can remount (if their steeds get can be fired on; splitting fire be-
are still available) whenever they begin tween three or more targets is not Hits are still totaled for the unit nor-
their movement step in contact with the allowed. mally, and lost figures may be removed
mounts. It requires one-third of a unit's from anywhere in the unit.
mounted movement allowance to re-
mount.

These dwarven troops exhibit their standard proudly, and non. (See Advanced Scenario 2, pages 99-100, for an ex-
also show off a unique weapon: the dwarven steam can- ample of the steam cannon in action.)

62

Lord Fallwick Intermediate Scenarios

The scenarios on the following pages
are examples of battles that can be set
up using the basic and intermediate
BATTLESYSTEM™ rules.

All three scenarios use the rules for
skirmish units. The second scenario in-
troduces individuals (heroes and com-
manders), and the third battle gives one
side a unit of arquebusiers.

Refer to the introductory text for the
basic scenarios (page 46) for general in-
formation and advice that is true for
these scenarios as well.

Thorack

From Scenario 2: Army commander Thorack is the most out of the woods, intending to crush the advance of Lord
prominent figure on the battlefield as he leads his minions Fallwick's Legion before it can gain any more ground.

63

Intermediate Scenarios

Infantrymen brace for an assault that
they know is inevitable.

This unit of Lord Fallwick's archers looks impressive from a distance—and down-
right formidable here, as seen close up from another unit's point of view.

Blackthumb, Fighter hero Lord Fallwick, mounted on his charger and backed up by his gallant hero, Sir
Tenly, prepares to meet the onslaught of monsters from the forest.

64

Border Skirmish Intermediate Scenario 1

The King's Army the river, all set to take the bridge and to all of the other human forces. The
use that as a springboard for a big push bridge is 3" wide, sufficient to accom-
Background south. The task of the King's Army is modate a unit of man-sized figures
twofold: hold onto the ground they still moving in column formation.
The area in the vicinity of Greyrock control, and retake the bridge and the
Bridge marks the unofficial border be- hilltop garrison before the monsters' Victory
tween the lands claimed by human set- foothold turns into a stranglehold.
tlers and the untamed expanse to the The King's Army can win by elimi-
north, occupied by great tribes of rest- Setup nating all of the monsters from the bat-
less monsters. The river is deep enough tlefield, or by occupying the three key
to be an effective barrier against an in- After the monster army has been set terrain objectives: the bridge, the hill-
vading horde; the bridge is the only up, the King's Army is brought onto the top, and the steeper hill in the southeast
place for leagues in either direction field along the southern edge. corner of the battlefield. If human
where the river can be crossed by most forces are on the bridge and on the tops
creatures, and the King's Army has long Terrain of both hills at the end of any turn, and
maintained a garrison on a nearby hill- if none of those occupying forces are in
top from where the troops can keep the The river is shallow water to the contact with enemy figures, then the
bridge under constant surveillance. king's medium cavalry, but deep water
scenario is over.
All that is changed now. Recently a
mass of monsters mounted a successful Unit Rosters AD AR Hits ML MV
surprise attack against the garrison, de-
stroying it and occupying the hilltop. 12 Medium Cavalry [10]8 7 3 12 18"
Before the last of the defenders were
slaughtered, they managed to send out 12 Halberdiers 8 5 2 12 9"
a courier to relay news of the invasion
to the main body of the King's Army, Second rank can attack in melee
which was based far to the south.
16 Spearmen 6 8 1 12 12"
As the king's soldiers rush north-
ward, they get their first close look at Rangel"/2"/3"
the invading force: a group holding the
hilltop, which they expected—and an 24 Pikemen 6 8 1 12 12"
even larger mass of evil creatures across
Second and third ranks can attack in mleelleeee
8
12 Shortbowmen 6*6 1 12 12"

Skirmish unit; Range 5" /10" /15"

12 Crossbowmen 6*6 7 1 12 9"

Range8"/16"/24"

Monster Army
setup area #2

65

Intermediate Scenario 1 Border Skirmish

The Monster Army that if they can take that high ground unit of man-sized figures moving in
before the enemy has time to react, they column formation.
Background will be well on their way to dominating
the entire countryside. Now this is an Victory
For generations, the creatures who adventure. . . . The Monster Army can win by elimi-
make their settlements to the north and
west of the river have been enduring Setup nating all of the enemy units from the
small but repeated invasions of their battlefield, or by occupying the three
territory. These invaders, who call The Monster Army sets up first. One key terrain objectives: the bridge, the
themselves "adventurers," seek out the of the goblin units and the ore archers hilltop garrison (which they already
strongest tribal leaders they can find— are placed in setup area #1, and the re- hold), and the tall hill in the southeast
for the sole purpose of killing them. The mainder of the troops in setup area #2. corner of the battlefield. If monster
creatures of the northland do not un- forces are on the bridge and on the tops
derstand or appreciate this kind of be- Terrain of both hills at the end of any turn, and
havior (unless, of course, they are the if none of those occupying forces are in
ones doing the killing). The river is shallow water to the contact with enemy figures, then the
ogres and trolls, but deep water to all of scenario is over.
Enough is enough. The creatures the other monster forces. The bridge is
have banded together and devised a 3" wide, sufficient to accommodate a AR Hits ML MV
plan to strike back at the land where the 8 1 11 6"
adventurers come from. The first step is Unit Rosters AD
complete: the outpost to the east of the 6 8 1 11 6"
river, which many adventurers have 24 Goblins with Spears 8 1 11 9"
used as a jumping-off point for their in- Rangel"/2"/3" 6 8 2 12 9"
vasions, was hit by a surprise attack. 6
The hilltop is now under the creatures' 24 Goblins with Swords 6*8 7 3 12 9"
control. 12 Ores 7 4 13 12"
18 Ore Archers 10
Phase two is under way. Creatures of 12
various types have gathered in the area Range5"/10"/15"
across the river from the hilltop, and 10 Ogres
are just about to rush over the bridge 6 Troll Skirmishers
and begin moving south. They can see a
tall hill in the distance, and they know

Monster Army
setup area #2

66

Clash in the Clearing Intermediate Scenario 2

Fallwick's Legion of speedy cavalry that can chase down Terrain
any vermin that try to flee across open
Background ground. While guarding against an am- There are no special terrain consider-
bush from the forest to the west, Lord ations in this scenario.
If the monsters of the Darkwood had Fallwick moves his legion methodically
been content to stay in their forest hide- northward. Sooner or later he'll find Victory
outs, Lord Fallwick and his people what he's looking for.
would have been happy to leave them Fallwick's legion wins a major vic-
alone and go about their own business. Setup tory if all of the enemy units are elimi-
But the forest dwellers don't seem inter- nated in combat and none of the
ested in peaceful coexistence; bands of Fallwick's legion is set up first, with legion's units are eliminated or routed
gruesome creatures have been sallying no more than one unit in the woods. off the field. The legion scores a minor
forth from the forest and assaulting victory if all of the enemy units are de-
people in the nearby grasslands. stroyed or routed off the table.

Lord Fallwick has two options: He Unit Rosters
can send out small groups of soldiers on
search-and-destroy missions, hoping to AD AR I [its ML/CD MV
discourage the marauders, or he can
put an end to these depredations once Lord Fallwick 8 3 5 16" 15"
and for all by leading his entire legion
into battle against the horde. He Army commander (mounted); +2 Charisma Bonus 9"
chooses the latter course, feeling confi- 9"
dent that his small but well-trained Sir Tenly, Fighter hero 10 4 5 8" 12"
force can outmaneuver and outfight 12"
even a full army of smaller and slower 24 Medium Infantry 8 7 1 12
goblins, ores, and the like. 12"
Unit commander 6 5 3 9"
The legion commander is prepared to 24"
battle the monsters wherever he en- 12 Elf Longbowmen 6*6 8 1 12 24"
counters them; his force includes some
troops that can function well in wooded Skirmish unit; Range 7"/14"/21"; Favored terrain: Woods 6"
areas, powerful infantry that can slug it 6"
out on any kind of terrain, and a squad Unit commander 6*6 12" 6"
9"
+ 1 Charisma Bonus

12 Light Cavalry 8 8 2 12

Unit commander 8 5 4 10"

12 Heavy Infantry 8 5 2 13

Unit commander 8 2 4 11"

15 Dwarf Crossbowmen 6*6 6 2 13

Unit commander 6*6 4 2 9"
Range6"/12"/18"

(It

o

75

67

Intermediate Scenario 2 Clash in the Clearing

Thorack's Army in numbers to the fullest. No more than one unit can begin the
Thorack has just received a report scenario in the woods.
Background
that the human legion is almost within Terrain
If Lord Fallwick had been content to striking distance. He gives the order to There are no special terrain consider-
mind his own business and not worry deploy for battle, and the ores and gob-
about protecting every isolated farmer lins under his command snarl and ations in this scenario.
and wayfarer in the territory he claims slaver in anticipation.
as his domain, the dwellers in the forest Victory
would have been satisfied with making Setup
occasional small raids into the open ter- Thorack's army is victorious if all of
rain, and both factions would have After Fallwick's legion is set up, the enemy units are eliminated in com-
been able to peacefully coexist. But the Thorack's army is put into position bat or routed off the field.
power-hungry human commander has along the north edge of the battlefield.
insisted on escalating the conflict;
scouts for the forest creatures have re- Unit Rosters
ported that a force of soldiers is making
its way northward. AD AR Hits ML/CD MV
15" 15"
Thorack, an exceptionally strong Thorack 10 4 5
and intelligent ore, has taken it upon 7" 9"
himself to assume command of the for- Army commander (mounted); +1 Charisma Bonus 12 9"
est folk. He has two options: He can 9" 9"
send out small parties to harass the ad- Blackthumb, Fighter hero 8 36 11 9"
vancing legion and deplete its ranks, or 9" 9"
he can put an end to Fallwick's intru- 12 Ore Heavy Infantry 8 72
sions once and for all by leading his en- 11 6"
tire army into battle against the legion. Unit commander 8 53 9" 9"
He chooses the latter course, confident
that his large and well-organized force 18 Ores with Crossbows 6*6 8 1 11 6"
can overwhelm Fallwick's men, espe- 9" 9"
cially if the fight takes place on open Unit commander 6*6 4 3 12 9"
ground where he can use his advantage 12" 9"
Range 8" /16" /24"

24 Goblins with Spears 6*6 8 1

Unit commander 6*8 4 3

Rangel"/2"/3"

20 Goblins with Swords 6 81

Unit commander 6 62

20 Ores with Short Bows 6*6 8 1

Unit commander 6*8 5 4

Skirmish unit; Range 5" /10" /15"

68

Powdersmoke Intermediate Scenario 3

Red Prince's Army knights and the maneuverability of his Terrain
renowned horse archers. The battle
Background shapes up as a classic confrontation of There are no special terrain consider-
power versus speed—and now that the ations in this scenario.
The time is the late medieval era, and Red Prince's force has crested a hill and
the way that men wage war is on the can see the Black Army in the distance, Victory
verge of being changed forever. The the festivities are about to get under
Army of the Red Prince, one of two way. Total elimination of the enemy is not
contenders for the throne, is riding necessary. The Army of the Red Prince
forth to meet the Army of the Black Setup wins if the Black Prince's heavy cavalry
Prince in a conflict that will be a test of and horse archers are destroyed or
courage as much as a test of arms. To The Army of the Red Prince is set up routed off the field.
the victor will go the kingship—and if first. At least one unit must be placed
the Red Prince's force prevails, he will on top of the hill; others can be de-
also go down in history as the first mon- ployed anywhere in the setup area.
arch to rule by means of bullets rather
than blades. Unit Rosters

Among the Red Prince's soldiers is a 6 Heavy Cavalry AD AR Hits ML MV
contingent of arquebusiers—brave [10]8 4 3 14 18"
(some would say foolhardy) men who
wield primitive firearms. If the weap- 16 Arquebusiers 8*6 9 1 12 12"
ons don't kill the men holding them,
they have the potential to wreak havoc Range 5" /10" /20"
throughout any enemy unit that is the
target of their fire. And if the Red Army 20 Pikemen 6 7 1 12 12"
does win the day, it may not be long be-
fore powder horns and pellets become Second and third ranks cai ack in melee
part of every soldier's equipment.
20 Halberdiers 8 7 1 13 9"
The Red Prince knows that his oppo-
nent does not have firearms; instead, Second rank can attack in melesee
the Black Prince is expected to rely on Shortbowmen 6*6
the durability of his heavily armored 16 8 1 12 12"
Skirmish unit

Range5"/10"/15"

Red Prince's Army
setup area

69

Intermediate Scenario 3 Powdersmoke

Black Prince's Army nerable to missile fire, they can move Setup
quickly enough to stay out of the way
Background of the guns. And as always, the nucleus After the Army of the Red Prince is
of the Black Army is a squad of heavily set up, the Black Prince's soldiers are
The time is the late medieval era, and armored knights. The Black Prince is placed in the northwest corner of the
the way that men wage war may be on out to demonstrate that the age of battlefield. At least one unit must be on
the verge of being changed forever. The knighthood and chivalry is far from the crest of the hill.
Army of the Black Prince, one of two over—and the way to fight a real battle
contenders for the throne, is about to is to meet your enemy face to face in a Terrain
enter battle with the Army of the Red test of strength and courage, not to
Prince in a conflict that will be a test of cower behind the lines and pepper your There are no special terrain consider-
tradition versus innovation. To the vic- foe with hot pellets of lead. ations in this scenario.
tor will go the kingship—and if the
Black Prince's force prevails, that vic- Which side will prevail? More impor- Victory
tory will demonstrate that the world is tantly, from a larger perspective, which
not yet ready (if indeed it ever will be) type of warfare will prove to be the Total elimination of the enemy is not
for weapons that operate on gunpow- more effective? The answers will come necessary. The Black Prince wins if the
der instead of musclepower. soon, because the Army of the Red Red Prince's heavy cavalry and arque-
Prince is now visible in the distance to busiers are destroyed or routed off the
The Black Prince knows that the Red the south. The festivities are about to field.
Army has a squad of arquebusiers— get under way.
foolhardy men who use primitive fire-
arms. The Black Prince has disdained Unit Rosters
their use, since he has witnessed (on his
own training grounds) their unsettling 8 Heavy Cavalry AD AR Hits ML MV
tendency to blow up in the faces of the 12 Horse Archers [10]8 4 3 13 15"
men holding them. Yet he fears that if
the weapons do work properly, they 6*6 8 2 12 21"
have the ability to wreak havoc.
Range 5" /10" /15" 67 1 12 9"
To counter the Red Army's strength, 24 Pikemen ack in melee
the Black Prince will rely on the speed 1 12 12"
of his renowned horse archers. Even Second and third ranks cai 87 1 13 12"
though these troops are extremely vul- 20 Swordsmen
12 Longbowmen 6*6 9

Skirmish unit; Range 7" /14" /21"

Black Prince
Army setup are

Red Prince's Arm
setup area

70

Chapter 7

Advanced Rules

71

Chapter 7: Advanced Rules

Like the intermediate rules, the given figure can never spend more than Turning in the Air
advanced rules can be added one at a half of its MV to gain altitude; the other
time, or can be incorporated into the half must be spent in forward flight. Every flying crea-
game as a group. Because of the variety ture is assigned a maneuverability
and complexity of the advanced rules, The altitude of a flying unit is re- class, ranging from A (best) to E
it's unlikely (although certainly possi- corded by placing a d20 with the figures (worst). This letter rating describes
ble) that all of them would be in use in the unit. Each increment on the die how well the creature is able to change
during a single scenario. To avoid mis- represents 10' of altitude—the same as direction during one turn of movement.
understandings after play has begun, one level of hill. If a unit flies higher
it's important that every player know than 200', use a second die to show the Maneuverability j
which rules are to be used and which added altitude.
ones are not used in the scenario they're Class A Figure can turn as much as
about to start. A unit cannot take to the air during a
movement step when it begins that step desired. It can hover, and it
Flying Creatures on the ground and in contact with an
enemy unit. can move vertically upward
Certain types of
creatures usable in BATTLESYSTEM™ Unlike a unit on the ground, an air- without having to move for-
scenarios can fly. Units capable of flight borne unit must use at least half of its
provide great advantages in movement movement allowance every turn. ward.
and positioning for the owning player,
but their morale is sometimes fragile, Exceptions: A flying unit in base- Class B Figure can turn a total of 360
and some kinds of flying creatures are to-base contact with an enemy fly-
difficult to maneuver. ing unit does not have to move, degrees in one movement
and flying creatures with maneu-
Flying creatures on the ground per- verability class A or B (see next step, and it can hover as a
form as a normal land-based unit; the column, and also Appendix II)
movement and combat rules given be- need not move. figure of class A.
low apply only when the creatures are
in flight. Changing Altitude Class C Figure can turn a total of 180

Aerial Movement When a figure degrees in one movement
climbs, it spends 1" of its movement al-
Creatures in the lowance to ascend through one 10-foot step.
air generally abide by the normal (1" in scale) increment of altitude. It
movement rules, with several additions must combine each 1" of ascent with a Class D Figure can turn a total of 90
and exceptions. forward move of at least 1". For exam-
ple, a figure cannot move vertically up- degrees during a move.
The standard ground scale (1" = 10 ward 100 feet (10" in scale) and then
yards) does not apply for evelations start flying forward; it must move for- Class E Figure can turn a total of 60
and vertical movement; in such mea- ward 1" for each 1" climbed, so that in
surements, 1" = 10 feet. order to climb 10" it has to use 20" of degrees during a move.
movement.
A unit is always in irregular forma- i
tion when it is airborne; each figure or Exceptions: Figures with hover-
stand of figures must be at least 1" and ing ability can climb straight up. A figure can combine turns of differ-
not more than 2" away from the figure This includes creatures with a ma-
or stand closest to it. neuverability class of A or B, as ent directions as long as it does not ex-
well as figures using fly spells (see
A flying unit in the air cannot declare the rules for magic, Chapter 8), ceed its overall turn allowance during a
or perform a charge against a unit at the rings of flying, and potions of fly-
same or a higher elevation. A flying ing. However, magical devices that given movement step. For example, a
unit can charge a unit at a lower eleva- provide a platform for the flyer (a
tion, including a unit on the ground— flying carpet or broom of flying, figure of maneuverability class C does
but see the section below on Melee for example) must make the for-
Combat Options for flying units. ward movement in addition to the not have to use its 180-degree turn al-
climbing.
A flying unit must spend a portion of lowance all at once; it could (among
its movement allowance in order to Descending costs none of a flyer's
leave the ground or (if already air- movement allowance. In fact, for every other combinations) make a 90-degree
borne) to climb to a higher altitude. A 3" of altitude descended, a flyer adds 1"
to its forward movement allowance. turn to the left and later during its move

72 make a 90-degree turn back to the right.

Combat and Flying Creatures

Special combat
rules apply to both melee and missile
combat when one or more flying crea-
tures are involved.

Melee Combat Options

A flying unit can
enter melee combat in one of four dif-
ferent ways:

1. Ground Attack: It can land next to
an enemy unit on the ground, moving
into contact with the unit as it lands.
Normal melee combat rules apply, and
the flying unit receives no combat mod-
ifiers for being airborne. It can charge

Advanced Rules

into battle (and thus get the normal AD do the rules for advantage in melee (see adjacent to the land unit. (For purposes
bonus for charging) with this option. page 41). Since the frontage of the unit of the battle, they occupy the same
is above or below it, all figures that pass space as the defending unit, but since
2. Pass-By Attack: It can pass by an over (or under) enemy figures can make the figures cannot be actually stacked
enemy unit on the ground or in the air, attacks. If the unit on the ground is in on top of one another, the flying unit is
making a special melee attack and then regular formation, one figure to each simply placed on the battlefield next to
continuing on with its movement. If the side of the contacted figures can attack. the land unit.)
attacker does not have enough move-
ment left to break off contact after the The number of attack dice for both A vertical envelopment attack is re-
battle, it cannot choose this combat op- units is modified to half of the normal solved as a normal melee combat. Ar-
tion. Combat occurs when the two amount, after all other modifications mor rating modifiers for higher and
units are at altitudes one increment have been made. After pass-by combat, lower elevation apply, as do the rules
apart (1", or 10 feet in scale). If units the attacking unit must move out of on advantage in melee. All figures that
come together at the same altitude, base-to-base contact with the defending would be in contact with the enemy
combat option 1 (if both units are unit. unit (and those to either side, if the unit
grounded) or 4 (if both units are air- is in regular formation) can attack.
borne) is used. A flying unit cannot combine a
charge and a pass-by attack. This form of attack differs from nor-
Pass-by combat allows figures in a mal melee combat in one way: After all
flying unit and in an enemy unit (either 3. Vertical Envelopment: This is a casualties are removed and morale
flying or on the ground) to attack up or form of combat in which a flying unit checks made, one unit or the other must
down. Armor rating modifiers for units attempts to land on top of a land unit, be dislodged from its place on the bat-
at higher and lower elevation apply, as attacking as it does so. The flying fig- tlefield, since opposing units can't oc-
ures end their move directly above and cupy the same space.

A king and his heavy knights watch the battle before them, planning to throw their If the defending unit withdraws or
weight into the fray when the time is right. routs from its position, the flying unit
can claim that place on the table. If both
units stand firm, however, the flying
unit must retreat 4" toward its own
edge of the table, moving on the
ground, and be reduced to shaken sta-
tus. If this 4" move is not sufficient to
remove it from contact with the origi-
nal defending unit, it routs.

A unit cannot charge into a vertical
envelopment attack.

4. Dogfight: A flying unit can end its
move in melee combat with another fly-
ing unit at the same elevation, or one in-
crement higher or lower. If the units are
not at the same elevation, then all the
figures of a unit may be able to contact
the enemy, even if both units are several
ranks deep.

A unit can charge into battle with this
option. Resolve the melee using the
normal rules, with the following addi-
tion: Each unit involved in a dogfight
loses altitude as a result of the combat.
The players roll a d6 for each unit, sub-
tracting that many increments of eleva-
tion from the unit's altitude. (On a roll
of 6, for instance, the unit descends 6",
or 60 feet in scale, from its original alti-
tude.) If a unit lands on the ground, it
stops its descent there, but suffers no
damage from the landing. If it lands on

73

Advanced Rules

a friendly unit, that friendly unit auto-
matically routs.

If a descending unit lands on an en-
emy unit that was not involved in the
dogfight, the enemy unit gets a free at-
tack against all figures of the flying unit
that make contact. The flying unit,
once on the ground, then automatically
routs from that engagement.

If both combatants in a dogfight de-
scend to the same location on the
ground, both of them become routed.

Setting Spears or Pikes Aerial missile fire. A flying unit could only fire on the figures near the wall if the
Against Flying Creatures attacker was above the line from the figures' heads through the top of the wall.

If a unit in regu- Flying Units and Missile Combat tance between the attacker and the tar-
lar formation on the ground has set get affects the calculation of the range
spears or other pole arms to meet the at- Units that launch at which the attack is made.
tack of a Hying unit, and the airborne missiles from the air suffer a penalty of
attack is against the front sides of the x i/2 AD in addition to all other appli- Every 1" (10-foot increment, in scale)
defending figures, the unit with set cable penalties. However, defenders of altitude of the target above the at-
weapons can roll x 2 AD against the that depend upon vertical obstacles tacker counts as 1" of distance for range
flyers—even if the flying unit makes a such as walls or breastworks for an ar- determination. However, if the target is
vertical envelopment or a pass-by at- mor rating bonus against missile fire at a lower altitude than the attacker,
tack. If the flyers drop to the ground to might lose that bonus when they are at- every 2" of vertical distance counts as
make a normal land attack, the AD bo- tacked from the air. If the airborne at- 1" for range determination. The hori-
nus for the defending unit does not ap- tackers are farther above the obstacle zontal distance between the units is
ply unless the attacking unit is than they are in front of it (away from measured (just as if they were both on
charging. the defenders), then the defensive bene- the ground directly beneath their
fit of the obstacle is negated. present locations), and then the vertical
Although the ground unit is not the distance and horizontal distance are
target of a charge when it is being hit by Range Effects of Altitude added together to determine the range
a vertical envelopment or a pass-by at- at which the attack takes place. Also, a
tack, it still must make a successful mo- When a missile flying unit at a higher altitude than its
rale check in order to set its weapons. attack is directed against, or launched target receives the range bonus for
Failure of this check has no effect other by, flying creatures, the vertical dis- elevation—each range category is in-
than to prevent the setting of weapons.

Falling Damage

If a figure or unit
falls freely, the victim suffers damage
from a 6-sided attack die for each 10
feet of distance fallen. The number of
attack dice is halved (to a minimum of
1) if the landing takes place in water or
swamp, and doubled if the landing is on
rough or rocky ground. The victim is
not allowed to make armor checks to
reduce the number of hits scored. If the
fall is into deep water, the figure or unit
is destroyed. If the fall is into any other
type of terrain that the unit cannot
move through, it is destroyed unless it
is a flying unit.

74

Advanced Rules

creased by 1" for each 1" difference in in the way flying units are affected by priests. (Necromancers converted
altitude, up to a maximum bonus of 3". when they become shaken or routed. from AD&D® game characters, and su-
pernatural monsters commanding un-
For example, Advanced Scenario 3 in If a unit in the air becomes shaken, it dead hordes, are possible exceptions.) A
this book (see pages 101-102) contains a is marked to indicate its new status, but figure in command of an undead troop
unit of manticores (missile range 6" / it is not required to withdraw 4" as cannot perform any other functions (in-
12" /18") on one side and a unit of hip- must a ground unit. However, if it is cluding heroic combat or spellcasting)
pogriffs carrying elven longbowmen moving when it fails the check, it adds during a turn without causing the un-
(range 7"/14"/21") on the other. Both 4" to its forward move for that turn, dead to be out of command.
units are capable of flight. If the manti- and must use all of its movement allow-
cores are about to fire missiles while fly- ance before stopping. A priest can command a number of
ing 8" above the hippogriffs and 5" zombies or skeletons limited only by his
away in horizontal distance, they are A shaken flying unit cannot gain alti- command diameter. Ghouls are harder
considered to be 9" away for purposes tude, nor can it be rallied while air- to control; a priest can command two
of range determination—5" for hori- borne. Normal restrictions on shaken of these creatures for each one of the
zontal distance, plus 1" for every 2" of units all apply to a shaken flying unit. It commander's hits. And wights are
vertical distance. The manticores qual- rallies from shaken to good order nor- harder still—a priest can only com-
ify for the maximum range bonus of 3" mally when on the ground. mand as many of them as the priest's
because of their elevation, which means number of hits. Ghouls and wights
that the attack from 9" away is a short- If an unit routs while it is in the air, must still be within the priest's com-
range attack. If the elves fire at the man- the creatures are assumed to dive away mand diameter to be controlled; if the
ticores in the same situation, they do so from the battle with all possible speed. number of such creatures in the priest's
from a distance of 13" (8" vertical plus If a flying unit routs, it is removed from command diameter is greater than the
5" horizontal), which is a medium- play immediately without going maximum number the individual can
range attack. through rout movement. If a unit of fly- command, then the player in charge of
ers routs while on the ground, or at an the priest figure must specify which
A target that is far below a unit of altitude of 1" (10 feet in scale) above the ghouls or wights are in command and
missile troops, and is out of range be- ground, it can perform normal rout which ones are out of command.
cause of vertical distance, can still be movement on the ground, and can be
fired upon (treated as a long-range tar- rallied the same way that a ground unit If undead figures are out of com-
get) if the horizontal distance between is rallied. mand, they move and fight at half effec-
attacker and target would put the target tiveness. In addition, they will continue
in short range. If the manticores from Undead Units to perform the last order given them un-
the above example were more than 21" til they are destroyed, they march off
above the hippogriffs, the target would Magical beings the table, or the scenario ends.
be out of range in terms of vertical dis- and powers can sometimes animate the
tance (even including the manticores' corpses of the dead. These creatures can Exceptions: If the last command
3" elevation range bonus). However, if gather into military units of horrible as- given to the undead was to fight a
the hippogriffs were 9" or less away pect and considerable effectiveness. melee, and the enemy is no longer
from the manticores in horizontal dis- These forces include skeletons, zom- before the unit, the undead will
tance, the manticores could make a bies, ghouls, and wights, and occasion- march straight forward until they
long-range attack. ally even more fearsome monsters. contact another foe. If the undead
They offer terrors far beyond those of unit had been given an order to
Morale And Flying Units mortal combatants. On the other hand, move in a certain direction and
limitations in initiative and intelligence subsequently contacts another
A unit in flight of these troops can cause complications unit—enemy or friendly—the un-
suffers a - 1 penalty to its morale rating for their controllers. dead unit will attack.
whenever called upon to make a morale
check. (Some airborne creatures may Undead cannot charge. They are not Effects on Enemy Morale
be specifically exempted from this pen- required to make morale checks or dis-
alty.) A unit in flight, even if it is in cipline checks. Mortal troops
good order, cannot withdraw instead of universally shudder at the prospect of
making a morale check. Command of Undead an assault by an undead unit. This fact
is reflected in special morale check re-
Other situations requiring morale The rules in this quirements.
checks are handled the same way for section should only be used if the rules
flying units as for ground units. How- on commanders (see pages 58-59) are When an undead unit advances to
ever, there are some major differences employed. within 4" of a non-undead unit, the
mortal troops must check morale. If the
Undead figures must be commanded

75

Advanced Rules

mortal unit is in good order, it can with- This lion-headed figure would make a (Player's Handbook, page 103, and
draw instead of making the check. If a fearsome-looking gnoll commander. Dungeon Master's Guide, page 67) can
mortal unit advances toward an un- be used in place of the table given in
dead unit, it must make a morale check A priest can attempt to eliminate an these rules. Undead that are turned are
(it can't choose to withdraw, if it is in undead figure if the enemy is located in considered slain for BATTLESYSTEM™
good order) when it reaches a point 1" front of the priest (within a 45-degree scenario purposes.
away from the undead. angle to either side) and is 3" away or
closer. No figures can be between the A priest can make an attack of this
Some undead have special horrific priest and the undead, but the undead sort during the Melee Combat Step, in-
abilities. Wights, for example, drain life does not need to be facing the priest. stead of making a normal melee attack.
energy from their victims (an ability re- A priest can attempt to slay an undead
flected in the creature's large AD size), The priest's chance of eliminating an figure even if the priest is hit by an at-
and ghouls cause paralysis in victims by undead figure depends on the number tack from that figure or any other en-
their touch. (See Appendix II.) of hits the priest has, and the result of a emy figure in that same step.
die roll on the Slaying Undead Table
When facing an undead unit with a (see below). How to Use the Table
special ability such as the ones men-
tioned above, a unit must check morale Note: If the scenario being played is Cross-reference
at the end of the turn if the two units are drawn directly from an AD&D game the priest's Hits rating with the type of
in contact at that time. This is in addi- campaign, the Turning Undead Table undead being fought against. If the en-
tion to the check that is made before the try is a number, roll a d20. If the result
units come into contact. is equal to or greater than the given
number, one enemy undead figure is de-
For either type of check against stroyed. If the entry on the table is an
ghouls, a unit suffers a — 1 penalty to its "S" followed by a number, then that
morale rating. (Elves are an exception; many undead figures are automatically
see Appendix II.) slain (assuming there were at least that
many undead figures within range).
When a unit is checking because it
faces wights, it suffers a —2 penalty to A priest can make one attempt to slay
its morale rating. Both morale effects undead in this fashion during any Me-
fall under the special ability "cause hor- lee Combat Step. However, as soon as a
ror" (see the magic rules, Chapter 8). priest is unsuccessful in an attempt, he
can make no further attempts against
Priests Affecting the undead of that same unit for the rest
Enemy Undead of the scenario.

A priest fighting Animal Packs or Herds
against undead units has a special way
of scoring hits on undead figures that It is not uncom-
are nearby. This procedure is a conver- mon for the beasts of the forest to rise in
sion of the AD&D® game mechanic for defense of their domain, particularly
turning undead. when it is threatened by an evil force.
These rules do not apply to animals that
Slaying Undead Table have been magically controlled and/or
summoned (see the Mass Charm spell,
Type of Undead* 1 Priest's Hits Rating 6 7+ page 92, and the Insect Plague and
Skeleton 7 S3 S4 Creeping Doom spells, page 94).
Zombie 10 2345 S2 S3
Ghoul 13 S2 S3 Command of Animals
Wight 19 SI SI S2 S2 SI S2
4 SI SI S2 The rules in this
7 4 SI SI section should be used only if the rules
13 7 4 SI on commanders are employed (see
pages 58-59).
* Additional types of undead (vampires, spectres, wraiths, etc.) from the AD&D®
game can be employed in massed battles. The table in the AD&D rule books is used Animals do not necessarily need a
for determining a priest's effects against those creatures. Except in very fantastic bat- commander, if some universal urge pro-
tle settings, the additional types are far more likely to function as heroes (individual pels them into the battle. (This is a de-
figures) than as units.

76

Advanced Rules

termination to be made in the setup of a charge is resolved immediately. If the the military engineer can smash at the
scenario.) However, animals can attack animals do not rout and are not de- walls and gates of a fortress until the bat-
and maneuver much more effectively stroyed, they continue their stampede tle, once again, becomes a test of arms.
when they are under the control of an after the combat is resolved.
intelligent creature. Druids, clerics, and This test of arms is fought amid the
possibly rangers can command units of If the enemy unit withdraws or routs mazelike corridors, narrow ramparts,
animals. A scenario might define an- as a result of the combat, the animals and long wall-top platforms of a for-
other character who can command a continue moving straight ahead — tress, not the wide open meadows of the
specific body of animals—a man raised possibly contacting and fighting that typical battlefield. Heroes and gallant
with a pack of wolves, for example, unit again. If the enemy unit stands its warriors battle in doorways or
could command the pack in battle. ground after the combat is resolved, the breached walls, standing fast against a
stampeding animals will veer around swarm of attackers.
Animals receive their full movement the unit on the shortest path to continu-
allowance regardless of whether or not ing the charge. If two approximately In all these respects, combat in build-
they have a commander. However, ani- equal paths are available, roll a d6. On ings offers different tactical problems
mals only attack at V2 AD when not a 1-3 the herd goes to the right; on a 4-6 than does combat in the field. The fol-
motivated by a commander. it veers left. lowing rules address changes in move-
ment, morale, and combat for such
With a commander, animals receive The herd stampedes to the limits of units, as well as machines to aid in the
the normal 1 AD per figure in melee its movement, attacking every enemy attacking or defense of a fortress.
combat. Animals can also charge (if unit in its path, unless it routs or is anni-
they succeed on a morale check). Ani- hilated before then. Effects of Walls
mals never become shaken; any time a
unit of animals fails a morale check that Stampede Rout The rules in this
would normally cause a unit to become section apply to all walls and buildings
shaken, the animal unit routs. An ani- When a unit of that might appear on the battlefield.
mal unit can only rally if it has a com- animals routs, it follows the normal re- However, fences or other barriers (even
mander. quirements for routing units, except if solid stone) that can be crossed by the
that if it is large enough to perform a creatures in a unit are considered obsta-
Animals in Combat stampede it will not attempt to veer cles (special terrain), not walls or build-
around friendly units—instead, it per- ings.
I When animals forms a stampede rout. Animals that do
charge, they receive the AD bonus for a not fulfill the minimum size require- Likewise, a very high wall that is not
charging cavalry unit (x 2 AD) if the ment of a stampeding unit will veer nor- solid—a plank panel with many gaps,
animals are larger than man-sized. mally around friendly units. for example—does not fully qualify as a
Human-sized and smaller animals wall. Troops cannot move over or
charge as infantry ( x IV2 AD bonus). An animal unit performing a stam- through it, but nevertheless it is treated
pede rout is treated as a unit performing simply as an obstacle for melee combat,
Stampedes a stampede, except that its direction is or as a screen for protection against
determined by the rules on rout move- missile fire. A missile unit adjacent to
Herd animals can ment, and it will attack friendly and en- such a barrier can fire missiles through
perform a stampede, which is essen- emy units in its path with equal vigor. it with no penalty.
tially a charge with extra impetus. In
order to start a stampede, a herd must Fortifications and It is possible for a fence to be an ob-
consist of at least 8 medium-sized herd Fortresses stacle to a unit on one side and a wall to
animal figures or 6 large or huge herd a unit on the other (a seven-foot-high
animals (see animal descriptions, Ap- Troops can take wall dividing giants and humans, for
pendix II), and must be at least 2 ranks shelter in buildings. The walls and example).
deep. A herd can stampede if it passes a doors of a stone farmhouse can offer
normal charge initiation morale check, protection against a clamoring horde of Representing Buildings
and is of sufficient size. attackers. Greater still is the security in the Game
provided by high walls, fortified ram-
A stampeding herd has its morale rat- parts, and reinforced gates. Actual models of
ing improved by + 3 for the duration of castles, towers, and fortifications add a
the stampede—i.e., until it routs, These protections, like so much ar- wonderful visual effect to any gaming
reaches the end of its move, or is annihi- mor, can increase the security of a de- table. Many of these miniature struc-
lated. fender but they cannot guarantee that tures have removable roofs so that the
security. Battering rams, siege towers, placement of troops inside can be ob-
When a herd of animals stampedes, catapults, trebuchets, and other tools of served and adjusted.
any melee combat triggered by its
77 Lacking such an elaborate display,
1

Advanced Rules

however, the matter is easily handled battlefield affects those rules in the fol- that a unit will be able to maneuver us-
by using floor plans sketched on a large lowing ways: ing the normal movement rules.
piece of paper or cardboard. Such tem-
plates are even easier to use than Figures within a building or an en- However, when walls constrict the
models, since there are no physical closed wall space are not out of com- normal deployment of a unit, or when a
walls to obstruct the placement of a mand, even if they are outside the doorway or gate stands in its path,
stand of figures inside the structure. command diameter of their leader, as some modifications of the normal
long as the commander is located some- movement rules are required. Figures
If a detailed depiction of a building is where within the same structure. mounted on bases by themselves are
needed, players might find it useful to ideal for use inside buildings and fortifi-
place the building display on another However, the charisma bonus of a cations, but normal stands of two and
nearby surface instead of on the battle- commander can only benefit those fig- three figures can also be used with little
field tabletop itself; simply mark the lo- ures that are within the leader's com- difficulty.
cation of the building on the gaming mand diameter, and that are not
table and resolve engagements within separated from the commander by Squeezing In
the building on the off-board display. walls or other building features.
Figures are not
Effect of Buildings Moving Troops in Buildings allowed to enter buildings or enclosed
on Command areas unless the entire base of the figure
Troops are not can fit inside. However, the number of
If the rules on required to use the special movement figures mounted on a stand should not
commanders (see pages 58-59) are em- rules in this section simply because work to penalize a player. If there
ployed, the presence of buildings on the they're surrounded by walls. In a large would be room for all the figures if they
courtyard or cavern, it is quite possible were mounted on individual bases, the
multiple stand can be placed even
where it actually doesn't quite fit. (Ob-
viously, it's a lot easier to squeeze a
stand of figures into a room when using
a floor plan than it is when using a
three-dimensional model.)

Occupying a building. This stand of three ogres is assumed to be entirely within Facing and Formation in Buildings i
the building, even though the stand itself hangs over the edge of the building's
outside wall. (See "Squeezing In" on the top right of this page.) A unit is consid-
ered to be in irregular formation when
78 inside a building, unless there is room
for the unit to deploy in a regular for-
mation at least two ranks deep. A
player must declare when his enclosed
unit is in regular formation.

Figures pay none of their movement
allowance to make facing changes
when within a building or enclosed
walls in irregular formation; they can
change direction freely, just like skir-
mishers can. Stands may be placed far-
ther apart indoors than out; up to 1"
per figure can separate the stands of a
unit. A stand of three figures, for exam-
ple, could be up to 3" away from an-
other stand (of any number of figures)
in that unit. A stand of one figure must
be within 1" of another single figure, or
within 2" of a double stand, and so on.
A gap between figures in regular forma-
tion is never necessary, however; fig-
ures can be in base-to-base contact, just

Advanced Rules

Facing inside a building. Even though this stand of figures is facing the windows, ment rules. Otherwise, the following
the one at left is assumed to be guarding the doorway, so that it can't be attacked special procedures apply.
from the flank by an enemy coming through the door.
Only one figure at a time can pass
as they are required to be when they are will have his flank to one of the open- through the door, gateway, or other ap-
not inside a building. ings. Regardless of the actual direction erture, and the unit pays 1" of move-
this figure is facing, it should be as- ment per figure passing through (or 2"
Skirmishers are not required to main- sumed that the figure is guarding the di- per figure moving through a window).
tain a distance between bases when in- rection of obvious attack, and an attack This cost even applies to skirmish units.
doors; they can be crowded as close through the nearest opening is consid-
together as any other figures. ered to hit the front, not the flank, of If more than one opening is availa-
the figure. An enemy breach into the ble, figures can move through all the
Note on facing: When a unit is inside building and subsequent attack, as de- openings simultaneously and only pay
a building or enclosure, sometimes it scribed below, would result in the flank the movement cost once for each group
will not be possible to face all of the fig- penalty being applied to the defenders of figures that move. For example, if a
ures in the desired directions. As a gen- of the building. unit is facing a wall that contains a door
eral rule, assume that the first side of a and two windows, it could move 4 fig-
figure to contact an enemy (in an in- Passing Through Doors, ures to the other side of the wall by
door environment) is the front of that Gates, and Windows spending 2" of its movement allow-
figure; no flank or rear attack penalties ance: One figure moves through each
apply if the figure is attacked from only If a door or gate- window, and two figures pass through
one direction. However, subsequent at- way is wide enough to accommodate a the doorway at the same time. Each ad-
tacks against that figure from addi- stand of two figures (or more) at a time, ditional 2" spent can move 4 more fig-
tional directions will trigger the the figures in a unit can pass through ures inside.
penalties. the opening using the normal move-
A figure cannot end its move directly
If a stand of three figures, for exam- 79 in an opening, unless the opening is
ple, must defend two openings in the wider than the figure's base. However,
corner of a building, one of the figures a figure can pass through an opening
that is narrower than its base, by sim-
ply ending its move on the other side of
the wall from where it began.

Stairways and Permanent Ladders

Most fortifica-
tions have different levels of elevation,
connected by prepared routes such as
stairways and ladders. For the purpose
of the movement rules in this section,
these features do not include portable
ladders (scaling ladders) or grapples
that might be carried by assaulting
troops; see the following section for
rules concerning those items.

A figure can climb or descend a stair-
way at a cost of 1" per 1" (10 feet in
scale) of elevation change. Moving up
or down a permanent ladder costs 2"
per 1" of ascent or descent. As with
moving through doorways and other
openings (see above), more than one
figure can move simultaneously at no
increase in movement cost if more than
one route (or, for instance, an extra-
wide stairway) is available.

Advanced Rules

Scaling Ladders and Grapples Effects of Buildings on Morale nated. Figures can be faced in any direc-
tion after the move is completed.
A unit can be The effects de-
designated in a scenario as carrying lad- scribed here apply to the defenders of a Units in Separate Rooms
ders or grapples. A unit carrying lad- building or fortification—and also to
ders pays one-third of its movement the attackers, if every surviving figure If figures suffer a
allowance every turn because of its of the attacking unit is within the walls rout result when a unit is split between
load; there is no movement cost for car- of the enclosure. several different rooms or enclosed ar-
rying grapples. eas, only those figures within the af-
A player can always choose to apply fected room are required to perform the
Ladders and grapples can be repre- the standard effects of morale to one of 4" move explained above. The entire
sented by miniatures, toothpicks, his units instead of the special proce- unit is still reduced to shaken status,
thread, or other props, though this is dures listed here. In fact, such a deci- however.
not necessary. sion need not be made until after the
morale check dice are rolled. Holding the Breach
A unit can use ladders if it begins its
move in contact with (and facing) the The primary effect on morale is that This game rule
wall to be scaled, or if it uses less than units are not required to rout when they allows a unit to stand more solidly at an
one-third of its move to contact and are within walls. An important addi- important defensive position such as a
face the wall. To use grapples, a unit tional consideration is the determina- rampart on a wall, a gateway or door-
must be contacting and facing the wall tion of troops to stand firm at a wall, way that has been smashed open, or
at the start of its move. gate, or breached wall, defined as even a breach in a castle wall. A breach
"holding the breach." must be a bottleneck or barrier of some
When using ladders, a unit spends 2" sort, however; units holding a line
of its movement allowance to move one Effects on Rout across a wide corridor, bridge, or other
figure 1" (10 feet in scale) up each avail- long, straight passage are subject to the
able ladder. A ladder can support one The routs seen on normal combat and morale rules.
figure for each 1" of its length; how- a battlefield, where troops panic and
ever, no more than one rank of a unit flee toward imagined safety, are less rel- If the breach is the top of a wall, a
may climb aboard the unit's ladders un- evant in a fortress—particularly when rampart, parapet, or other type of
til entry is gained to the walltop posi- such a flight would send the fleeing breastwork, all of the figures in the unit
tion. force pouring over the back wall into that are in contact with enemy figures
the teeth of the encircling foe. Even at- must be protected by the barrier.
Grapples are more difficult to use. tacking troops, however, will not be so
Not only is the cost 3" per figure mov- likely to fly from the shelter of their A player can declare that one of his
ing up 10 feet, but such figures might hard-fought gains, once they have units is attempting to hold the breach
not be able to fight when they reach the worked their way into a castle or for- before it begins melee combat with a
top of the wall. If a unit is using grap- tress. given enemy unit. If this declaration is
ples to reach the top of a wall, and the made, the unit cannot choose to with-
top of the wall is being defended by en- When a unit makes a morale check draw instead of making a required mo-
emy units, then the attacking unit must that would ordinarily result in its rout- rale check. However, if the unit fails a
make a special morale check—with no ing, the following effects occur instead: morale check, it is not required to with-
modifiers, regardless of other circum- draw 4". Instead, it follows this special
stances—before melee combat is re- 1. The unit becomes shaken (if it did procedure:
solved. The only purpose of this check not already have that status).
is to determine if the unit using grapples If a unit in good or shaken order fails
gets to make an attack (success) or must 2. One figure is removed, in addition a morale check while holding a breach,
simply hang on its ropes and endure the to any casualties that might already some of the enemy figures force their
attacks of the defenders (failure). A unit have been lost; no additional morale way past the obstacle. The exact num-
never changes the status of its morale check is required for this lost figure. ber is detemined by the difference be-
(to shaken or routed) or withdraws as a tween the morale roll needed to pass the
result of this special check. 3. All of the remaining figures in the check and the dice roll actually made.
unit are moved 4". They must move For example, if the unit needed a 12 and
away from enemy figures as much as rolled a 15, then 3 enemy figures pass
possible, and are allowed to change ele- through the breach (or doors or win-
vation within the building by using dow, or climb over the wall, etc.).
stairs or permanent ladders. Any fig-
ures that cannot complete a 4" move, The defending figures must withdraw
or that come into contact with enemy enough to allow the enemy figures
figures during the move, are elimi- through, but no more. The defender

80

Advanced Rules

Shelter from missile fire. The front rank of the unit at left obviously protected. The unit at right can be hit by indirect
can't be hit by indirect fire, and the unit under the roof is fire, as can the second rank of the unit at left.

does not become shaken if it was in Combat Rules for Buildings among all target units within the range
good order. If the defending unit re- and Fortifications of the attacker. The defender decides
gains its position at the breach, it can which units take the extra hits when the
hold the breach again; until it does so, Combat rules ap- division results in a remainder. The de-
normal withdrawal rules apply. ply to figures fighting from, within, fender then rolls armor checks and re-
against, or upon fortifications, and to moves any casualties.
If the defender inflicts casualties on figures and war machines attacking the
an enemy unit that has passed partially, fortifications themselves. Troops that are under a roof, or the
but not entirely, through any breach first rank of troops against a wall that
(whether or not a holding action was Shelter from Missile Fire separates them from the missile troops,
declared there), the figures killed must cannot be struck by indirect fire.
be taken from those through the If the figures in a
breach. Defending figures can immedi- unit are in a building or behind a wall, Fighting at Narrow Passages
ately move forward to fill gaps left by they can take shelter from enemy mis-
those removed figures. siles. All figures within a building can Only as many
claim such shelter. Up to one rank of figures as could pass through a narrow
A hero can hold a breach (and obvi- figures may shield itself completely be- opening at one time can fight to defend
ously, such an individual will never fail hind a wall; additional ranks may be that opening. This usually means a sin-
a morale check). This is a legitimate tac- subject to indirect fire. gle figure at a door, window, or other
tic, and indeed the bones of many he- bottleneck. If the figure fighting at a
roes have come to rest in all the Enemy missile troops can take indi- passage is slain, it can be replaced by
different types of breaches. rect fire shots over a wall in the hope of another figure in its unit if that other
hitting a target beyond. After all other figure is not in contact with an enemy
modifiers are made, such attacks suffer unit. (To simplify this procedure, sim-
an additional V2 AD penalty. After the ply remove the casualty from a rear
fire is resolved, hits are divided evenly rank of the unit.)

81

Advanced Rules

Scaling Walls Typical Hits ratings for structures and section on the use of battering rams.)
parts of structures are given below, As many figures as could fully touch an
Units equipped though these numbers will often be aperture or wall can attack it during a
with grapples or scaling ladders can at- modified by the details of a certain sce- turn.
tempt to gain entry into a fortress over nario.
the top of its walls. However, defenders To bash a physical feature, simply
holding the wall have a considerable Hits of Building Features roll an attack for the figure(s) that are
combat advantage over the attackers. 2 shutters on a typical door or trying to break it down and total the
window number of hits. Hits scored on physical
Melee combat can occur between fig- 3 heavy door features, just like excess hits scored on a
ures that have climbed ladders and 5 fortified door unit, are cumulative from turn to turn.
grapples (see the rules on movement in 10 typical cottage Physical features do not make armor
the previous section) and reached the 15 iron door checks; every hit does damage. Often it
top of a wall. Both sides are considered 20 wooden house is easy to keep track of hits scored by
to be at the same elevation. 24 small gate placing a die next to the physical fea-
30 stone house, section of wooden ture, but for objects with more than 20
However, the defender gets the AR hits it is more convenient to keep a tally
benefit ( - 2) of being protected by a palisade on paper.
wall and the attacker does not. In addi- 40 section of earthen wall
tion, the attacker suffers a + 4 penalty 50 large gate Battering Rams
to his AR when on a ladder. An attacker 60 section of stone wall up to 20'
on grappling lines is not allowed to An obstacle can
make any armor checks; every hit on thick be broken down or broken through
the unit counts as a casualty. 80 section of stone wall greater more quickly by the use of a battering
ram. (The rules for a scenario will dic-
When casualties are inflicted on a than 20' thick tate when one or more battering rams
scaling unit, losses must first be re- are available.) In its simplest form, this
moved from figures that have made the Small-sized troops can inflict damage implement is a log carried by several
climb. When all figures on ladders or on physical features having 20 hits or figures in a unit, which then rush for-
grapples are eliminated, excess losses less. Humans and other man-sized ward and smash the ram into the obsta-
are applied to figures on the ground be- troops can damage objects having 30 cle being attacked.
low. hits or less. Troops of larger than man-
sized creatures can damage objects hav- Generally, as many as 6 figures can
Bashing Doors and Gates ing 50 hits or less. Objects having more use a battering ram (although a sce-
than 50 hits can only be damaged by gi- nario might specify a smaller maximum
Doors and gates ants or other creatures of similar size number). The ram is assumed to be as
in a building have a certain number of (dragons, large dinosaurs, titans, etc.). long as the line of figures that are hold-
hits, much like a figure in a unit. When ing it. In order for a ram to be usable,
a door or other physical feature loses all Only one figure can attack a building there must be space in a straight line in
of its hits, it ceases to be an obstacle. feature, unless the feature is wider than
the figure's base. (But see the following

Colors and shading can add to the sinister appearance of ures in this display, there is obviously more than one way to
monstrous troops—and, as seen by the left and center fig- give the same figure an outstanding paint job.

82

Advanced Rules

front of the target equal to half the
length of the ram (so that the troops can
get a running start before the ram im-
pacts with the target).

For example, a unit with a battering
ram wants to break down a fortified
door at the end of a narrow corridor.
Assuming that each figure in the unit is
on a base roughly 1" square, then the
corridor must be 9" long in order for 6
figures to use a battering ram. If the cor-
ridor is only 6" long, then only 4 figures
could ram; if it is 3" long, then just 2
figures could ram—but that would still
be a more effective attack than if a sin-
gle figure stood in front of the door and
hacked away at it with his weapon.

The AD of a battering ram (which
may be given in the scenario descrip-
tion) varies with the size of the figures
wielding it. Small-sized creatures such
as goblins might use a battering ram
with AD 6; humans, AD 8; and large
creatures such as ogres or giants might
ram with AD 10 or AD 12. If an AD
number for a ram is not specified in a
scenario, use the AD one size higher
than that of the unit's normal melee at-
tack. To determine the number of hits
scored by a battering ram, roll an
appropriate-sized attack die for every
two figures participating in the assault.

Dropping Missiles from Walls Battering rams. The four ores at left can't use their battering ram, since they can
only back up 1" before hitting the wall of another building (not shown here for
A unit can be clarity). The two ores at right can't ram either, since there is no open space be-
listed in a scenario description as being hind them. The six in the center can ram, because the path behind them is clear.
armed with weapons that can be
dropped on an attacker. Alternately, Also, dropped missiles can be used as War Machines
certain walltop positions within a de- pass-through fire during the enemy's
fense can be protected with such weap- movement step when enemy figures are The most elabo-
ons, usable by any unit garrisoning that scaling a wall or other barrier that a rate assaults against fortifications in-
location. friendly unit is attempting to hold. Fig- volve great engines of war such as
ures that make this pass-through attack catapults, trebuchets, and siege towers,
The roster notation for an attack are still eligible to fight in the Melee as well as powerful, grinding construc-
with dropped missiles—rocks, caul- Combat Step of the same turn. tions such as covered rams and bores.
drons of oil, and so forth—is an AD These are easily represented on the ta-
number in parentheses. Dropped missiles can sometimes ne- bletop battlefield. Each type of war ma-
gate the armor protection of the target chine falls into one of three class-
Missiles can be dropped during the unit. If the missiles are small rocks (less ifications: bombardment engines,
Melee Combat Step by any defending than 1 foot in diameter) or regular crushing engines, or siege towers.
figures that are not in contact with en- weapons (such as spears), the defender
emy figures (because of the defender's is allowed normal armor checks. But if Bombardment Engines
higher elevation) but have those figures the missiles are large rocks, or hot (boil-
adjacent to them at the bottom of a wall ing oil) or corrosive (acid, green slime) Bombardment en-
or other precipice. This attack must be substances, the defender is allowed no gines are medieval artillery. They hurl
made instead of a figure's normal melee armor checks. missiles at a slow rate of fire and
attack.
83

Advanced Rules

without a great deal of accuracy—but Bombardment Engines AD Hits Range Crew Rate Mov<
the missiles are very large and do a lot Ballista 12 8 l"/27" 3
of damage to anything they hit. 1 6"

Explanation of terms used in the table Light Catapult 2dlO 10 15"/30" 4 2 4"
at right:
Heavy Catapult 2dl2 15 18"/36" 6 3 3"
AD is the size (and number) of attack
dice rolled when the artillery is fired. Trebuchet 3dl2 20 24"/48" 8 4 none
Attacks can be rolled against specific
target units or building features. Eligi- selves against a melee attack, but they useful against wooden barriers and por-
ble building features include wall sec- cannot fire missile weapons or make a tals. The bore, a large implement re-
tions 3" or more in length, or a melee attack; if they do either of these sembling a drill or a screw, is most
reasonably large feature such as a things, they are considered not to be useful against stone walls.
tower, gatehouse, or stable. Objects crewing the artillery weapon during the
such as gates are generally too small to turn in which the attack is made. At least eight figures are needed to
be artillery targets; a gate or other type move a crushing engine at its full speed
of feature not listed here would need to Rate of fire is the number of turns re- of 3" per turn. Four to seven figures can
be at least 3" wide to qualify as an artil- quired for the weapon to be reloaded. A move it 2", and two or three can move
lery target. heavy catapult, for example, can fire it 1". Crushing engines can only be
once every three turns (or only once moved over clear, flat terrain (including
A ballista with full crew can fire at a every six turns, if it is missing a crew roads, but not trails). Twice as many
single large-sized individual figure (a member or two). figures are required to move a crushing
dragon or the leader or a troop of gi- engine up even a gentle slope (1" rise for
ants, for instance); under no other cir- Move is the distance an artillery every 12" of horizontal distance), and
cumstances can an artillery piece fire at weapon can travel in one turn over movement up a steeper incline is impos-
a single figure, whether that figure is a clear, flat terrain. An artillery weapon sible.
hero or part of a unit. is treated as cavalry for purposes of de-
termining what types of special terrain A crushing engine gets two attack
Targets of artillery attacks are not al- it can negotiate, and how quickly it can dice of the appropriate size for each fig-
lowed to make armor checks; every hit move through special terrain—half ure helping to operate the device. At
does damage. speed through light woods or when as- least two figures must be available to
cending a slope, and one-third speed operate it, and no more than four can
Special Modifier: An artillery through shallow water or brush/scrub. contribute to the crushing engine's at-
weapon only inflicts half the actual hits tack strength. The engine must be
it rolls (rounded up) when firing at a An artillery weapon can only be touching the surface to be attacked be-
unit in skirmish formation. If 5 hits are moved when it has a full crew. An artil- fore it can cause damage.
indicated, for example, a skirmish unit lery weapon cannot move and fire in
only suffers 3. the same turn, though it can be moved Explanation of terms used in the table
fully loaded, ready to fire the turn after below:
Hits is the number of hits required to it moves.
disable the machine (see the section be- Hits is a two-number entry because
low on Damage to Occupants of Build- A turn when an artillery weapon in most cases, a crushing engine is en-
ings and War Machines). moves does not count for reloading, for closed within a structure (generally a
purposes of determining rate of fire. An heavy wooden roof supported by a
Range is given in minimum and max- artillery weapon can change facing dur- framework of timbers) that provides
imum distances. There are no short, ing a turn when it is being reloaded. protection for the device as well as for
medium, and long range categories for the figures (maximum of four) that are
artillery, and artillery pieces do not re- Crushing Engines operating it. The first number repre-
ceive a range bonus for elevation. sents the number of hits of the engine it-
Rams and bores self; the second number is the number
Crew is the number of figures re- are the two typical examples of this of hits of the protective framework and
quired to operate the weapon at full ef- type of war machine. The ram (a more roof (which must be destroyed before
fectiveness. The weapon can operate massive version of the battering ram the device inside can suffer damage).
with less than a full crew, but its rate of discussed in a previous section) is most
fire is slowed to half speed. A weapon
cannot fire or be loaded if its crew has Crushing Engines Hits AD When Used Against...
been reduced to less than half the num- Ram 6/18 Stone Metal Wood
ber given here. Bore 12/18
4 68
Crew members can defend them- 8 66

84

Advanced Rules

AD columns show the size of attack
die (4-sided, 6-sided, or 8-sided) used
when the engine is attacking a certain
type of material. The number of attack
dice rolled is determined by the number
of figures operating the device, as de-
scribed above.

Specific alterations in the ratings of
these engines can occur between sce-
narios.

Siege Towers

The purpose of
these huge, movable towers is to move
attackers up to the wall of a fortress,
castle, or other structure and enable
them to take on the defenders of the
wall from the same height, or perhaps
even a higher elevation. A siege tower is
as difficult to move as a crushing
engine, requiring the same number of
figures and subject to the same
restrictions.

A siege tower has 10 hits for every 1"
(10 feet in scale) of the tower's height.
The dimensions of a siege tower, the
number of levels within it, and its ca-
pacity (in number of figures) must be
specified in the rules for a scenario. If
the tower has multiple levels, figures
can be placed at various elevations
within it. (For example, some troops
might battle defenders at windows 10
feet off the ground while other attack-
ers are meeting a force guarding the top
of the wall 20 feet higher up.)

Damage to Occupants of A horde of charging goblins, mounted on bloodthirsty wolves, rush the coura-
Buildings and War Machines geous defenders of a key bridge.

War machines 85
can score hits against other war ma-
chines, and against both stone and
wooden building features of any type
(as long as the feature is large enough to
be an eligible target). War machines can
also be damaged by individual figures
and units.

A structure is destroyed when it has
suffered all of its hits in damage. Figures
inside the structure are in danger of be-
ing killed in the collapse. The attacker
rolls a d6 for each figure and totals the
number of hits scored; then the de-

Advanced Rules

Bright colors enliven this detailed fig- Fire inflicts damage against living Magical fire has various effects, de-
ure of an elven cavalryman and his creatures and wooden structures, but pending on how the fire is produced
horse. See Appendix IV for more infor- not against stone. Also, certain crea- and how potentially damaging it is. See
mation on painting. tures (such as fire giants) may be desig- the rules on magic (Chapter 8) for de-
nated as immune to fire attacks. Fire tails.
fender removes the appropriate number attacks are generally only usable if a
of figures from the battlefield. No ar- scenario specifies that they are availa- Igniting Targets
mor checks are allowed to cancel any of ble; a player cannot arbitrarily decide
these hits. that his troops have access to Greek Figures hit by fire
fire, for instance. However, players attacks are not allowed to make armor'
The crew of an artillery weapon does might come to a mutual agreement that checks; every hit scored does damage.
not suffer damage when the weapon is certain types of fire attacks (particu- Most of the time, the same is true of a
destroyed, since those figures are not in larly torches and flaming arrows) are structure or substance that is hit by fire.i
an enclosed area. Figures that are oper- available whenever a player elects to However, there are two types of excep-
ating a crushing engine may be killed use them. tions to that rule:
when the protective structure around
the device is destroyed. (The ram or Forms of Fire Green or freshly wet wood that is
bore itself is still usable, as long as a hit by nonmagical fire makes ar-
sufficient number of figures survive or Greek fire is a mor checks as though the substance
more figures can be moved up to take caustic, flame-producing liquid chemi- or structure has an AR of 6.
the places of the victims.) cal that has AD of 2dl2 per attack in the
turn when it hits a target—and Idl2 for Soaked hides or a steadily wa-
A siege tower is a special case because each of the next two turns, when the tered surface hit by nonmagical fire
of its height and massiveness. Instead of target is a figure or a unit (unless the liq- makes armor checks as though the
a d6, the attacker rolls a d8 for each fig- uid is somehow washed off or neutral- substance has an AR of 2.
ure inside a siege tower when the struc- ized). The damage suffered on later
ture is brought down. turns is determined at the start of the A wooden structure hit by a fire at-
Melee Combat Step (after the affected tack continues to suffer damage on sub-
Fire Attacks target has had an opportunity to sequent turns and may eventually be
move). Canisters of the substance— consumed by flames. At the start of the
Fire can be which are assumed to break on contact, Melee Combat Step of the turn follow-
wielded in the form of torches, flaming whether or not they hit their target— ing the original attack, the attacking
oil, chemically based Greek fire, and can be launched from a catapult or player rolls AD 6 for each hit that was
possibly magic. Fire, or a fiery object, dropped off the top of a wall or the roof scored by the original attack, and dam-
can be delivered to its target by drop- of a building. age is added to what the wooden struc-
ping it from a height, launching it from ture had already suffered. During the
a catapult, or lashing it to an arrow. Torches have AD 4 per attack. They next turn, AD 6 rolls are made for each
must be carried (and thus used as a me- hit scored on the previous turn, and
lee combat weapon) or dropped. that damage is added to the total. The
process is repeated until the wooden
Flaming oil has AD 12 per attack, structure has suffered all of its hits in
and also AD 12 on the turn following damage, or until the AD 6 rolls made
the attack when the target is a figure or during a turn result in no additional
a unit (resolved as for Greek fire; see damage, which means that the fire has
above). Containers of flaming oil can gone out.
be launched from a catapult or
dropped. Each figure spending a turn within 1"
of a fire can fight the blaze. Each fire-
Burning arrows act essentially as fighter changes an AD 6 fire damage
torches used as missile weapons. Be- roll for that turn to a roll of AD 4,
cause they don't fly as fast as normal ar- which increases the chance that the fire
rows, they have AD 4 per attack will be extinguished (score no hits dur-
(instead of the usual AD 6 for normal ing a Melee Combat Step) before it has
arrows). And they can't be propelled as consumed the structure. Firefighting
far as normal arrows can; the upper figures cannot move, attack, or be in
limit of each range category is halved contact with enemy figures during a
(after the elevation range bonus, if any, turn when they fight the fire.
is taken into account).

86

Chapter 8

Magic

87

Chapter 8: Magic

Magic on the battlefield is broken with magical weapons. Attacks with check the first time during a scenario
into two categories: special abilities in- nonmagical missile and melee weapons when the awesome creature comes
herent to certain types of creatures against invulnerable units or figures are within 12" of the unit. Vertical distance
(such as dragons and hell hounds) and impossible. If an invulnerable hero is (if greater than 12") doesn't count; if a
magical spells usable by certain types of attached to a unit that is not invulnera- dragon flies 20" above a unit on the
heroes (wizards and priests). ble, the other figures in the unit can still ground but is 12" or less distant from
be attacked normally. the unit in horizontal distance, the unit
Magic not only unleashes forces of suffers the effects of awe.
horrible destructive power, but it can Certain exceptions do exist, how-
be used to shape and alter the features ever: If figures attempt to charge an awe-
of the battlefield, or to disguise—even some figure, or if they are making a mo-
to the point of invisibility!—indi- An invulnerable figure can be hit rale check because they are the target of
viduals and units. The use of strong by a nonmagical weapon that al- the charge of an awesome creature, a
magic also can have a detrimental effect lows no armor checks (artillery and — 2 penalty applies to the unit's morale
on the morale of a foe. fire attacks being the prime exam- rating.
ples).
Fortunately for the masses of crea- Once a unit has succeeded on a mo-
tures, those who can wield magic are An invulnerable figure can be hit rale check caused by an awesome figure
few in number, restricted to powerful by a figure (whether a hero or part or unit, it need not check again for be-
wizards and priests or those awesome of a unit) having at least 3 Hits. ing awed by that figure or unit for the
creatures such as dragons with inherent rest of the scenario.
magical powers. When one of these A unit in contact with an enemy unit
powerful individuals works to serve the that it cannot attack because of invul- A creature or unit that causes horror
cause of evil, another powerful spell- nerability (or any other special magical forces an enemy unit to make a morale
caster will often be found to champion ability) must make a morale check at check when the opposing units first find
the cause of good. the end of each turn in which the two themselves separated by 3" or less. In
units remain in contact. addition, a unit must make a morale
The rules that follow are not an at- check at the end of each turn when it is
tempt to directly convert a magic-using Breath Weapons in contact with a figure or unit that
character from the AD&D® game into a causes horror. Certain figures are de-
figure in a BATTLESYSTEM™ scenario. Certain creatures scribed on the unit roster as "Cause hor-
Instead, they are designed as a set of (most notably dragons) can breathe fi- ror, - 1 " or "Cause horror, —2"; the
magic rules, drawn from the AD&D ery, or icy, or poisonous blasts from number is the penalty that applies to the
game rules, that will enable players to their jaws, capable of causing fearful opponent's morale rating for these
use magic spells and abilities on the ta- havoc on a battlefield. A breath checks.
bletop battlefield without needing a ref- weapon can be used once per turn, dur-
eree. ing either side's movement step or in the Creatures that cause horror or awe
Missile Combat Step. are immune to the horror and awe ef-
The rules for converting AD&D fects of other figures or units. Other
game characters to BATTLESYSTEM A breath weapon affects an area of a types of creatures may be immune to
scenario participants (Appendix I) ex- specific shape directly in front of the these effects as well.
plain how you can involve PCs in a bat- breathing creature. In addition, it may
tle scenario with no conversion of affect a specified maximum number of Magic Resistance
abilities or spell lists. Such usage, how- target figures. (Add 1 to this number for
ever, does require a referee or DM, and smaller than man-sized targets; sub- Creatures having
is best suited for battles occurring as tract 1 for larger than man-sized.) magic resistance can often avoid the ef-
part of a role-playing campaign. fects of a magic spell or magical special
Each figure within the area of effect ability. Magic resistance is expressed as
Special Magical Abilities suffers an attack by the listed AD for a number from 1 (weak) through 9
the figure's breath weapon attack. No (very strong).
Invulnerability (Immunity to armor checks are allowed.
Certain Weapons) The procedure for checking magic re-
Cause Awe, Cause Horror sistance is similar to an armor check;
Some creatures the player controlling the figure or unit
are described (in the statistical listings, Some creatures having magic resistance rolls ldlO for
Appendix II) as being immune to non- have the ability to cause awe or horror each figure struck by a magical attack.
magical weapons. An enemy figure or in enemy units. The effects of the two For each die-roll result equal to or less
unit cannot inflict harm upon such a powers are only slightly different. than the unit's or figure's magic resist-
creatures unless the enemy is equipped Creatures having either ability should ance rating, one figure avoids the effect
be noted as such on the unit roster. of the magical attack.

A creature or unit that causes awe
forces an enemy unit to make a morale

88

Magic

Spell areas of effect. A spellcasting figure at "X" casting a hind the giant; or at the skirmishers (right), hitting three of
wall of fire spell (see page 91) has several choices. The spell them. The ogres at left cannot be targeted, since they lie out-
can be directed at the giant; at two of the ores in the unit be- side the 45-degree arc to the left of the spellcaster's center.

Level Draining, Poison, Spell Abilities cannot have any spell of a higher level
than the figure's number of hits, and a
Paralysis Two types of he- figure cannot have more spells of a cer-
roes, wizards and priests, can employ tain level than he has of each level lower
These magical at- spells on the battlefield. Certain mon- than that. The same spell can be taken
tacks serve to create additional casual- sters might be specified as capable of us- twice, but not more than twice.
ties among the ranks of their victims. ing spells also.
Consequently, creatures with these Exception: A spell of a lower
abilities have been granted a larger- Choosing Spells level can be taken to fill a slot at a
sized AD than they would normally higher level, as long as the selection
merit. (In addition, the paralysis ability The spells usable of this spell does not violate the
has another special effect; see the de- by a figure are specifically assigned or rule about having the same spell no
scription of ghouls in Appendix II.) chosen at the start of a scenario, and more than twice. For instance, the
cannot be changed once the battle is un- player of a wizard entitled to have
Creatures with any of these attack der way. The greatest number of spells a a sixth level spell may not see any
forms always cause horror, and units figure can have is equal to IV2 times the use in being able to cast Lower Wa-
facing creatures with these special abili- spellcaster's number of hits (rounded ter, which is the only sixth level
ties must make morale checks as ex- up). Usually, a figure will have the max- wizard spell available. In that case,
plained under the "Cause Horror" imum number of spells available, but he can fill the sixth level slot with a
section above. sometimes a scenario may specify a spell of fifth level (or lower), as
lower number. long as the wizard does not end up
with the ability to cast the same
As explained below, each spell has a spell three times.
specified level; the higher the level, the
more powerful the magic. A spellcaster

89

Magic

Putting all these rules together: A Effects of Spells get is in skirmish formation, only 1 fig-
wizard with 3 hits can have as many as ure is affected.
5 spells (3 x li/2, rounded up). One of The specific ef-
those spells can be a third level spell fects of each spell are given in that Following this information in each
(matching the figure's number of hits). spell's description (see the spell lists at spell description is a section of text de-
The other four spells could be allocated the end of this chapter). The general tailing how the spell works and what
in two ways—either three first level characteristics that describe each spell sort of effect it has on the target fig-
spells and one second level, or two of are defined below. ure(s). If the spell does damage, an AD
each lower level. It would be illegal to number will usually be given. This type
give the figure a single first level spell Spell Level is an indication of the rel- of die is rolled for each figure affected
and three from second level, or to allow ative power of the magic of the spell; by the spell, and any hit(s) resulting
the figure more than one third level second level spells are more powerful from that roll are applied to the specific
spell. than first level spells, for instance (al- figure for which the roll was made.
though not necessarily twice as power- (Note that this differs from the proce-
In addition, spell-using individuals ful). This number is also the minimum dure for weapon combat, in which hits
have these innate abilities: A wizard number of hits a figure must have in or- are rolled collectively and not applied
causes horror in enemy figures within a der to use the spell in question (as ex- on a figure-by-figure basis.) Unless oth-
range of inches equal to the wizard's plained above). erwise specified in a spell description,
number of hits. A priest causes awe in no armor checks are allowed for the
enemy troops within a range equal to Range is the maximum distance purpose of canceling hits inflicted by
the priest's number of hits. away from the caster that the spell's ef- magic.
fects will reach or commence.
Casting Spells Wizard Spell List
Duration is the number of turns dur-
A spellcasting ing which the spell will remain in effect. Magic Missile
figure can use as many as two spells in a Players may wish to note the turn when
single turn, and can cast spells (one per a spell is cast on the unit roster (or an- Spell Level: 1
step) at any of these times—as long as other slip of paper), and they should be Range: 6" + 2" per hit of caster
the caster is not in contact with an en- sure to record the passage of turns Duration: Instantaneous
emy figure or unit: throughout the scenario in order to en- Area of Effect: 1 figure or unit
sure accuracy. A spell's duration lasts
1. During the caster's movement until the end of its final turn. A dura- A magic missile inflicts one hit upon
step, in place of movement, as long as tion of "Concentration" means the ef- the target for each hit of the caster (no
the casting figure has not yet moved in fect lasts as long as the wizard does not AD rolls necessary), up to a maximum
the current turn. move, does not cast another spell, and of 5. Armor checks are allowed against
is not hit by an attack. When concen- each hit.
2. During the opponent's movement tration is broken, the spell effect ceases
step. immediately. Stinking Cloud

3. During the Missile Combat Step. Area of Effect describes the size (and Spell Level: 2
perhaps also the shape) of the area in Range: 3"
The target of a spell must be within which the spell's effects occur. It is ex- Duration: 1 turn
the area of a 90-degree arc in front of pressed either as a measurement of Area of Effect: 1 figure
the caster (the same area that is used to space or as a maximum number of fig-
regulate movement and missile fire). ures. If the area of effect is a measure- The stinking cloud surrounds the tar-
Remember that an individual figure can ment of space, a figure is only affected get with a mass of noxious vapors. A
change facing freely during a turn; this by the spell if any "living" part of the unit must check morale if one of its fig-
includes pivoting to face a target just figure itself (but not its weapons, its ures is struck by this cloud.
before casting a spell. equipment, or its base) is within the
area. Larger than man-sized figures, and
Each spell listed for a spellcaster is us- figures with 3 or more hits, are immune
able once per battle. When the spell is When an area of effect is given as a to the stinking cloud.
used, it is crossed off the figure's list. number of figures, this number refers to
man-sized targets. It should be in-
creased by 1 for smaller than man-sized
figures and decreased by 1 (to a mini-
mum of 1) for larger than man-sized
targets. When several figures are af-
fected, they must all be adjacent to each
other in the unit's formation. If the tar-

90

Magic

Dispel Magic Haste Wall of Fire
Spell Level: 3
Spell Level: 3 Range: Contact Spell Level: 4
Range: 12" Duration: 2 turns Range: 6"
Duration: Instantaneous Area of Effect: 1 figure Duration: Concentration
Area of Effect: 1 spell Area of Effect: Rectangle 1" long per
The haste spell doubles a figure's
The dispel magic spell can be cast movement allowance and number of hit of caster, 3" high
against any opponent's magic spell with AD. A hasted figure always receives the
an ongoing effect occurring within melee advantage bonus (see page 41), One part of the wall must be within
range of the caster. (Spells with a dura- regardless of weapon type, unless he is range of the caster, but the far end of the
tion of "Instantaneous" cannot be dis- fighting a foe who is also hasted. wall can extend outside of the 6" range.
pelled before they take effect.) The wall cannot be moved once it is
Lightning Bolt raised. It lasts until the caster moves,
To succeed, the caster must roll 6 or casts another spell, or is hit by an at-
higher on ldlO (counting "0" as a roll of Spell Level: 3 tack.
10). The roll is modified by the differ- Range: 4" + 1" per hit of caster
ence between the caster's hits and the Duration: Instantaneous Each enemy figure in the wall when it
hits of the spellcaster whose enchant- Area of Effect: 3" line is raised, or that marches into it while it
ment is to be dispelled. is up, suffers damage of AD ldlO.
The lightning bolt begins at a point
For example, a caster with 7 hits at- within range of the spellcaster, and then Cone of Cold
tempting to negate a spell cast by a fig- shoots 3" from that point directly out-
ure with 4 hits adds 3 (7-4) to his die ward from the front side of the caster. A Spell Level: 5
roll, so that the dispelling succeeds on a figure whose body (but not just Range: 1" per 2 hits of caster
roll of 3 or higher. In the reverse situa- weapon, equipment, or base) lies in the Duration: Instantaneous
tion, a caster with 4 hits attempting to area of effect suffers AD of 3d8. Area of Effect: 90-degree arc in front of
negate a spell cast by a figure with 7 hits
must add - 3 to his roll, so that he Protection from Normal Missiles caster, to outer limit of range
needs to roll a 9 or higher to dispel the
more powerful caster's enchantment. Spell Level: 3 The cone of cold is a frigid blast
Range: Contact against creatures in the fan-shaped area
Fireball Duration: Remainder of scenario of effect. Each victim suffers an AD 8
Area of Effect: 1 figure attack for each 2 hits of the caster
Spell Level: 3 (rounded up). For example, a caster
Range: 2" per hit of caster The caster can protect himself or one with 5 hits rolls 3d8 against each figure
Duration: Instantaneous other individual figure (hero) from all in the area of effect.
Area of Effect: 2 figures 1" or less apart nonmagical arrows, spears, hurled
boulders, etc., for the rest of the sce- Cloudkill
The fireball explodes around the af- nario (or until the magic is dispelled).
fected figures, inflicting AD of 3d8 per The spell conveys no protection against Spell Level: 5
figure. artillery weapons or magical attacks. Range: 1"
Duration: 1 step
"y Fear Area of Effect: 1" x 2" rectangle

Spell Level: 3 Spell Level: 4 The cloudkill must be placed so that
Range: Contact Range: 2" at least an edge or a corner of the area of
Duration: 6 turns Duration: Instantaneous effect is within 1" of the spellcaster.
Area of Effect: 1 figure Area of Effect: 1 unit Any figures within the area of effect
suffer AD of 2dl2.
The fly spell allows one figure (repre- When the fear spell is cast upon an
senting an individual, not 10 creatures) opposing unit, that unit must make an After the spell is cast, the cloud can
to fly at a movement rate of 18", Ma- immediate morale check with a —3 be moved in a straight line up to 1" for
neuverability Class B. This figure can penalty to its morale rating. every 2 hits of the spellcaster, possibly
be the spellcaster, or any individual fig- damaging or killing other figures as it
ure that is in base-to-base contact with 91 moves. A unit that is forced to check
the caster when the spell is cast. morale because it suffers a casualty
from this magical attack is not required
to make repeated checks if the cloud
kills other figures in the same unit as it
moves. No single figure in the unit can
be the object of more than one AD roll.

If the target unit is in good order, it

Magic

can choose to withdraw instead of mak- with one spell and then return during a ure or unit. The magic lasts until the in-
ing the morale check after suffering a later step or turn with the other spell. visible unit is contacted by a moving
casualty. (Obviously, this can be a wise The caster's destination can be any lo- enemy unit or makes an attack.
tactic to get away from a moving cation on the battlefield not occupied
cloud.) If the spell is cast during the tar- by another unit. Any player who uses this spell must
get unit's movement step and that unit have a sheet of graph paper with an ac-
has not yet moved, it can move imme- Lower Water curate representation of battlefield ter-
diately after the casting (and the initial rain. Figures are removed from the
AD roll) in an attempt to avoid further Spell Level: 6 tabletop when they become invisible,
damage. The effect of this spell can be Range: 8" and their location and subsequent
negated by a successful casting of dispel Duration: 1 turn per 2 hits of caster movement are recorded on the graph
magic; the defending player must be Area of Effect: 1" square per hit of paper.
given an opportunity to declare that he
is casting dispel magic before the at- caster The invisible unit's figures must be
tacking player makes an AD roll to de- put back on the table as soon as the unit
termine damage caused by the cloud With this spell, a wizard can turn an attacks, or as soon as an enemy figure's
(whether the roll comes just after cast- area of deep water into shallow water, movement would cause it to bump into
ing or while it is moving). or an area of shallow water into clear, the invisible unit. (Close calls go to the
open terrain. Figures (friendly or en- player moving the non-invisible unit; if
The cloud will sink to the lowest ele- emy) can move through the altered ter- his moving figure would perhaps graze
vation in its path, perhaps moving con- rain, treating it as shallow water or dry the side of an invisible unit, that is
trary to the desired direction of the ground, for the duration of the spell (or enough to discover it.)
caster in doing so. The cloud cannot until the magic is dispelled). If a figure is
move up a slope and cannot move over caught in shallow water when it turns If the invisible unit reappears because
any obstacle 1" (10 feet in scale) high or back to deep water, the figure is de- another unit bumps into it, or if the in-
higher. It is dispersed if it comes into stroyed. If a figure is caught in an area visible unit attacks (either with missiles
contact with dense woods, and only of dry ground when it turns back to or melee weapons), the appearing unit
causes Idl2 of damage to figures in shallow water, the figure is destroyed if gets to make a free attack against the
light woods. it is unable to move through shallow enemy unit; the enemy is not allowed to
water. Note that the area of effect is al- return fire or make an attack with its
Hold Monster ways a square, regardless of the shape own weapons. This "free" combat takes
of the body of water being affected. place during the movement step; the
Spell Level: 5 Thus, a wizard with 6 hits casting the units fight normally during subsequent
Range: 1" per hit of caster spell on a 2" wide shallow stream combat steps.
Duration: 1 turn per 2 hits of caster causes a 6" length of the stream to dry
Area of Effect: 1 figure up; the rest of the terrain in the spell's Mass Charm
area of effect is already dry ground, and
The caster paralyzes any one figure if is not changed by the magic. Spell Level: 8
this spell is successfully cast. To deter- Range: 1" per hit of caster
mine success, roll ldlO for the caster. Mass Invisibility Duration: Special
Subtract 3 from the die roll if the figure Area of Effect: 2 man-sized figures
represents creatures at a 10:1 ratio. If Spell Level: 7
the result is greater than the number of Range: 2" per hit of caster The mass charm spell is used against
hits of the victim, the spell works and Duration: Special specific enemy figures (2 man-sized, 3
the victim must remain in place, unable Area of Effect: 1 unit within 6" x 6" small, or 1 large figure). To determine
to move or attack, for the duration. whether the spell succeeds, the defend-
square or equivalent area ing player makes a morale check for
Teleport each figure targeted by the magic. This
This spell can be used to conceal the check is made with a — 4 modifier to the
Spell Level: 5 location of any one unit, including not figure's morale rating, or - 2 if the tar-
Range: Spellcaster more than 40 man-sized or smaller fig- get figure is part of a unit and that unit's
Duration: Instantaneous ures, up to 12 larger than man-sized or commander is also targeted. If an indi-
Area of Effect: Spellcaster cavalry figures, or up to 4 giant-sized or vidual figure (hero) is targeted, that fig-
larger figures. In addition, the unit to be ure uses its CD rating for this
The teleport spell allows the spell- affected must be enclosed entirely check—unless the individual figure is a
caster to move instantly to any other within an area of 36 square inches (6" unit commander, in which case the
place on the table—or even leave the x 6", 4" x 9", 3" x 12", or any other check is made using the unit's morale
battle, in an emergency. A figure with shape that meets this requirement). The rating. Successful charming of a unit
two teleport spells can leave the battle spell cannot be cast on a unit having commander will cause that unit to be
any figures within 6" of an enemy fig- out of command.

92

Magic

This special check has no effect other The attacking player rolls AD of Spiritual Hammer i*-
than to determine whether or not the 2dlO for each figure struck by the spell.
spellcasting is successful. If the check is (A figure that lies between the caster Spell Level: 2
passed, the spell has no effect on that fig- and the target and also within 2" of the Range: 1" per hit of caster
ure. If one or more of the checks are target is only struck once, not twice.) Duration: Instantaneous
failed, however, the affected figure(s) Area of Effect: 1 individual figure
are immediately treated as casualties Priest Spell List
from the unit they belonged to, and the (hero)
remainder of the unit must immediately Bless
make a morale check as though a figure The spiritual hammer allows the
had been eliminated by a magical attack. Spell Level: 1 priest to roll an AD 6 attack against any
Range: 6" individual figure within range. The at-
Thereafter, the charmed figure(s) be- Duration: 1 turn tack is treated as an attack by a magical
come a separate unit under the com- Area of Effect: 1 unit weapon, so that it can affect a figure
mand of the spellcaster. If a hero is that is invulnerable to nonmagical
charmed, the figure switches sides and The bless spell, when cast upon a unit weapons.
is now controlled by the player whose that is not in contact with enemy fig-
figure cast the spell. Charmed figures ures, raises the morale rating of that Dispel Magic
are allowed an immediate change of unit by 1 until the end of the following
facing as their control passes to the turn. It can be used to affect a unit of up Spell Level: 3
other player; after this, they can only to 12 small or man-sized figures (or 4 Range: 12"
move and attack when their controlling large-sized figures). More than one Duration: Instantaneous
player has chances to move and attack. priest (or one priest with two bless Area of Effect: 1 spell
spells) can make multiple castings of the
If the charmed figure was part of a spell to protect a unit containing a The dispel magic spell can be cast
unit (a figure representing 10 soldiers), greater number of figures. A priest cast- against any opponent's magic spell with
it can join a unit owned by the control- ing more than one bless spell at the an ongoing effect occurring within
ling player if its attack dice and armor same time is treated as if he is casting range of the caster. (Spells with a dura-
rating are the same as those of other fig- only a single spell, for the purpose of tion of "Instantaneous" cannot be dis-
ures in the unit. A charmed individual counting the number of spells cast per pelled before they take effect.)
can take command of one of the con- turn.
trolling player's units if the player so de- To succeed, the caster must roll 6 or
sires; otherwise, that figure operates as All figures to be affected must be in higher on ldlO (counting "0" as a roll of
a hero. range of the spellcaster, though they do 10). The roll is modified by the differ-
not have to be within his 90-degree for- ence between the caster's hits and the
The effect of the spell lasts for the du- ward arc; for this spell, the caster's hits of the spellcaster whose enchant-
ration of the scenario—unless the range extends 6" in all directions ment is to be dispelled. This spell is
magic is dispelled, the charmed figures around the figure. identical with the wizard spell of the
are eliminated, or a wizard controlled same name.
by the opposing player casts another Chant
mass charm spell to return the figures to Prayer
their original allegiance. Spell Level: 2
Range: Special Spell Level: 3
Meteor Swarm Duration: Concentration Range: Contact
Area of Effect: 1 unit Duration: 1 turn
Spell Level: 9 Area of Effect: 1 unit
Range: 4" + 2" per hit of caster A priest must be within 1" of the unit
Duration: Instantaneous commander to benefit a unit with this The prayer spell affects the same
Area of Effect: Special spell, and all figures in the unit must be number of figures, for the same dura-
in command. When it is cast, the unit's tion, as the bless spell. It provides the
This powerful spell causes damage in morale rating receives a +1 bonus and unit with an improved morale and AD
a two-step process. First, the magical the AD of the unit is temporarily in- (exactly as the chant spell), plus it im-
meteors will strike any figures in line creased one size—from 8 to 10, for ex- proves the unit's AR by 1 (from 5 to 4,
between the caster and the target figure. ample. (If the AD is already 12 or for example).
When the effect reaches the target greater, add a d6 for each AD). The ef-
(which can be any figure within range), fect only lasts while the priest is concen-
the magic erupts in a spectacular and fi- trating.
ery display. This pyrotechnic explosion
affects the target and all other figures 93
within 2".

Magic

Cure Hits morale at the end of any turn when fig- hack through more quickly. However,
ures of the unit occupy the spell's area if this tactic is used the hedge is treated
Spell Level: 4 of effect. as an AD 8 foe, and a melee must be
Range: Contact fought between the unit and the hedge.
Duration: Permanent Wall of Fire The unit must score a number of hits
Area of Effect: 1 individual figure greater than 1 per attacking figure in or-
Spell Level: 5 der for an opening to be made. For this
(hero) Range: 8" special combat, the unit is allowed to
Duration: 1 turn make armor checks but the wall of
When a priest casts this spell on an el- Area of Effect: Rectangle 1" long per thorns is not. It could take more than
igible target, the recipient immediately one turn for a unit to make an opening
has some of his wounds healed; roll Id6 hit of caster, 3" high by combat.
and remove that many hits from the
character. This spell cannot be used on One part of the wall must be within A fireball, wall of fire, or flame strike
a figure that has been slain. range of the caster, but the far end of the spell that touches a wall of thorns will
wall can be farther than 8" away. The ignite it. The thorns burn until the end
Divination wall cannot be moved once it is raised. of the following turn, acting in all re-
It lasts for the duration of the current spects like a wall of fire spell. When the
Spell Level: 4 turn plus the next turn, unless the caster fire dies, the wall of thorns is gone.
Range: 2" moves, or an enemy figure moves into
Duration: Next initiative roll contact with the caster. Creeping Doom
Area of Effect: Commander
Each enemy figure in the path of the Spell Level: 7
If the divination spell is cast by a the wall when it is raised, or that Range: 1" per hit of caster
priest who is within 2" of the army marches into it while it is up, suffers an Duration: Instantaneous
commander of his forces (not merely a attack with AD 10. Area of Effect: 1" square
unit commander), or if the priest him-
self is the army commander, the divina- Find the Path The creeping doom spell creates a
tion spell grants the controlling player a mass of poisonous stinging spiders and
— 3 bonus to his next initiative roll. Spell Level: 6 insects. The horror inflicts AD of 4dl2
Range: Caster on any figure caught within it. Once
Flame Strike Duration: 1 turn per hit of caster created, the creeping doom can move in
Area of Effect: Special a straight line 1" for every 2 hits of the
Spell Level: 5 caster. (Its movement can be inter-<
Range: 6" A priest using this spell can lead a rupted while the opponent resolves mo-|
Duration: Instantaneous unit of figures in column formation rale checks for casualties.)
Area of Effect: 1 figure (any size, any through any type of terrain except com-
pletely impassable barriers. The unit Fire Storm
type) pays no movement penalty for the ter-
rain as long as the priest remains at the Spell Level: 7
This spell calls down a towering pil- head of the column. Range: 16"
lar of flame onto any single target figure Duration: 1 turn
within range of the caster. The flame in- The spell also allows the caster to lo- Area of Effect: 1" cube per hit of caster
flicts AD of 3dlO on the victim. cate any fords in streams that might lie
hidden below the surface. The fire storm sends explosive blasts
Insect Plague of flame through the entire area of ef-
Wall of Thorns fect. Each figure within that area suffers
Spell Level: 5 an attack of AD 2dlO. Creatures within
Range: 12" Spell Level: 6 the fire storm at the end of a turn suffer
Duration: 1 turn Range: 8" damage again.
Area of Effect: 6" diameter circle Duration: Length of scenario
Area of Effect: Rectangle 1" long per A priest with this spell can cast it in
This spell creates a dome-shaped reverse, as a fire quench spell. If cast
cloud of insects around any point hit of caster, 3" high against a nonmagical fire, it completely
within range of the caster. The cloud smothers all flame in twice the area of
blocks line of sight, and is 60 feet (6 ele- The wall of thorns creates a hedge of effect listed above. If cast against magi-
vation levels) high. It cannot be moved nasty, spiked vegetation. It can be cal flame (including fire storm spells,
once it is cast. slashed through, but only if a figure walls of fire, etc.), it smothers an area
spends 4 turns hacking at a single place equal to the listed area of effect.
Any units with figures in the cloud (instead of moving). After 4 turns, the
when it is cast will rout automatically, effort opens a passage as wide as the fig-
unless the figures have at least 4 hits ure's base.
apiece—in which case they must check
A unit can attack the wall, trying to

94

Advanced Scenarios

The scenarios on the following pages
are examples of miniatures battles that
can be set up and played using the ba-
sic, intermediate, and some of the
advanced BATTLESYSTEM™ rules.

The first scenario is a battle that cen-
ters around a building—one side occu-
pying the structure, the other side
trying to take it away. Each side has an
army commander. The second battle
uses undead troops, commanders and
heroes, an artillery weapon, and magic
spells. In the third scenario, the rules
for heroes, skirmish units, flying units,
and magic spells are employed.

Refer to the introductory text for the
basic scenarios (page 46) for general in-
formation and advice that is true for
these scenarios as well.

This fearsome giant skeleton is not From Scenario 2: This massive battle is reaching a climax, as an army of
afraid to die . . . again. dwarves tries to stem the advance of the horrific undead units that are moving
out of the swamp.

95

Advanced Scenarios

m.x>-

A unit of skeletal cavalry rushes along the base of a hill, which the undead army has emerged, and is a good exam-
hoping to encircle its opponents and cut them off from the pie of how to construct terrain and still leave enough room
rest of their force. The foreground depicts the swamp from for units to be moved through and around the area.

The dwarven army's ace in the hole—their steam cannon. If they can keep the Another possible way to depict the gi-
weapon from being destroyed, the dwarves stand a good chance of winning. ant skeleton in this scenario.

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The King's Last Stand Advanced Scenario 1

Men of King Weaver Setup high stone wall, and a two-story stone
house that is 30 feet tall. The courtyard
Background The men of King Weaver are placed is 18" wide and 12" deep, with a 3"
after the forces of Prince Boris have wide gate separating the courtyard
Old King Weaver is a good and kind been set up. The king himself must be- from the road leading up to it. The gate
man. And, as so often happens to such gin the scenario inside the manor, either has 24 hits; the door leading into the
people, someone who is not good and in the courtyard or in the house. The house has 15 hits. Both the courtyard
kind has taken advantage of that be- units he commands can be located in walls and the exterior walls of the house
nevolence. Assassins in the employ of the manor or anywhere within a 6" have arrow slits.
Prince Boris, the king's younger half- move from the courtyard gate. Any
brother, invaded Weaver's lightly unit inside the house does not have to Victory
guarded castle and, though they did not be placed on the battlefield until the en-
do him in, forced him to flee. King emy enters the house or the unit fires The men of King Weaver can win if
Weaver, along with a small contingent missiles at a target outside the house. the king himself survives and all of
of loyal soldiers, has taken refuge in a Prince Boris's army is eliminated or
manor on the fringe of his kingdom. Terrain routed from the field. If King Weaver is
killed, his men must make a morale
Being in the manor is a bit of a mixed Any suitable building model can be check at the end of every turn; they can
blessing. Troops within the structure used for the manor, or a cardboard still prevent the other side from win-
will be secure behind its stone walls— floor plan would suffice. The structure ning if they are able to eliminate Prince
but if the entrances are breached, the consists of two main parts: a large Boris. If both commanders are killed,
haven could turn into a tomb for any- courtyard surrounded by a 10-foot- the outcome is a draw.
one caught inside. Should the king keep
his men sheltered and try to hold the Unit Rosters
gate against Boris's assault, or should
he send at least some of his forces out- King Weaver AD AR Hits ML/CD MV
side to intercept Boris's men on the open 10 2 7 18" 18"
field?
Army commander; +2 Charisma Bonus 5 15 18"
Now that he can see the enemy corps 2 12 12"
lining the ridge to the south, King 6 King's Knights [12]10 3
Weaver knows that the time for deci- 12 9"
sion is at hand . . . and the time for be- 8 Loyal Archers 8*6 7
ing good and kind is over.
Range7"/14"/21"

10 Loyal Footmen 8

Prince Boris
setup an

97

Advanced Scenario 1 The King's Last Stand

Corps of Prince Boris Terrain to break the gate down. Up to six fig-
ures can handle a single battering ram.
Background The manor consists of a large court- Any figures carrying or using a ram
yard surrounded by a 10-foot-high cannot attack and cannot defend them-
Prince Boris has known for many stone wall, and a two-story stone house selves in melee combat; if they do take
years that he will succeed to the throne that is 30 feet tall. The courtyard is 18" up weapons, they must drop the ram to
upon the death of his older half- wide and 12" deep, with a 3" wide gate do so, and then the ram is lost.
brother, King Weaver. But Boris him- separating the courtyard from the road
self isn't getting any younger, and he leading to it. The gate has 24 hits; the Victory
has grown tired of waiting. The assas- door to the house has 15 hits.
sins he hired to infiltrate the king's cas- The Corps of Prince Boris can win if
tle somehow botched the job; now The area of light woods is central to the prince himself survives and all of
Weaver and the remains of his army are Boris's new plan. He can send squads of King Weaver's army is eliminated or
holed up in a manor near the northern men into the forest to cut down small routed from the field. Boris can also
border of the kingdom. trees for use as battering rams. To make win if he occupies the manor and none
a ram, a unit must spend one turn in the of King Weaver's men are left inside it.
Boris has reached the crest of the last forest without moving or engaging in If Prince Boris is killed, his men must
hill lying between him and the manor, combat (although such a unit could be make a morale check at the end of every
and he instantly sees a problem: Be- attacked by missile fire and still be able turn; they can still prevent the other
cause of the water running along its to finish its job). Boris's men can make side from winning if they eliminate
back side, he cannot surround the ma- up to three battering rams in this fash- King Weaver. If both commanders are
nor as he had planned. However, an- ion; the rams can then be carried to the killed, the outcome is a draw.
other idea springs to mind. The wooded courtyard gate and used in an attempt
area to the east is more than a source of
cover—it could provide Boris with the Unit Rosters AD AR Hits ML/CD MV
material he needs to turn a possible 10 3 5 13" 18"
stalemate into a decisive victory. Prince Boris
Army commander 10]8 3 3 13 15"
Setup 67 1 11 12"
7 Knights player's option)
The Corps of Prince Boris is placed 36 Regular Men-at-Arms 68 1 9 12"
on the field first. The prince himself 2 12 18"
must begin the scenario at the highest (May be split into tw 86
point of the hill. 21 Militiamen Irregulars
14 Medium Cavalry

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